The investigation into what caused the Virgin Galactic test flight to crash could take as long as 12 months, lead investigator Chris Hart has said.
Mr Hart, who is acting head of the National Transportation Safety Board, also told reporters that his team would interview injured co-pilot Peter Siebold when he was ready.
Sir Richard Branson is flying out to the crash site of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo after his dream of pioneering commercial space flight suffered a shattering blow in the Mojave desert.
One test pilot was killed while the other ejected and was seriously injured after the SS2 rocket plane exploded and crashed during today's flight.
As ITV News Correspondent Robert Moore reports from the US, the crash in California is a huge setback for an ambitious project that has already suffered a series of problems and delays.
Faced with a five-mile debris trail and masses of technical data, the team investigating the crash of SpaceShipTwo have their work cut out.
The loss is a tragedy for this small tight-knit team that dreams of making the trip into space accessible to travellers not just astronauts.