Virgin Galactic crash: Rocket scientist asks Branson to 'stay out of space business, ' 'sell mobile phones' instead

Days after Virgin Galactic spaceship exploded over California's Mojave Desert, killing one of the two pilots manning the craft, a rocket scientist has reportedly told Virgin Galactic Chief Sir Richard Branson to "stay out of the space business" and just "go sell mobile phones" instead.

Carolynne Campbell-Knight, a rocket scientist for the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) who has been an avid critic of Branson's ambitious space tourism project, said that the crash is exactly what she was expecting, reported The Daily Express.

More than 800 people had paid to take a tour to the space on Virgin Galactic spaceships including celebrities like, Justin Bieber, Ashton Kutcher, Stephen Hawking, Russell Brand, Leonardo DiCaprio, Katy Perry and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.

Virgin had hoped to launch commercially in 2015 and had already taken about 700 flight bookings at 250,000 dollars each.

The death of one of the two pilots marks a major blow for the project and its billionaire founder.