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Christopher Hart said Virgin Galactic would be able conduct further test flights while the investigation took place.
SpaceShipTwo broke up in mid-air during a test flight on Friday.
One of the pilots was killed and the other injured.
Virgin chief Sir Richard Branson says he is “determined to find out what went wrong” and learn from the tragedy.
The US National Transportation Safety Board team had completed its first full day of investigation, Mr Hart said, and would be examining evidence at the scene for four to seven days.
He said the craft’s debris was spread over an area measuring five miles from end to end.
He told a news conference the test flight had been “heavily documented” and his team would have to trawl through “extensive data”, which was why the full investigation could take “about 12 months or so”.
He said there were six cameras on the craft itself, with another three on its launcher, an aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo, although it was unclear whether SpaceShipTwo’s cameras had been found.
The pilot who died was named as Mike Alsbury
Police secured the crash site in the Mojave Desert amid fears that some of the debris could be explosiveThe co-pilot who died when SpaceShipTwo disintegrated shortly after take-off was named as 39-year-old Michael Alsbury.
The pilot who survived was identified as Peter Siebold.
Scaled Composites, the company both pilots worked for, said Mr Siebold, 43, was “alert and talking with his family and doctors”.
Mr Hart said his team were waiting for doctors to allow them to interview Mr Siebold.
The pilots
Michael Alsbury
- Aged 39
- Married with two children
- 15 years of flying experience
- First flew in SpaceShipTwo in 2010
- Flew craft’s first rocket-powered run in April 2013
Peter Siebold
- Aged 43
- Married with two children
- Received pilot’s licence when just 16
- Started working for Scaled Composites in 1996
- Had spent 2,000 hours in 35 different fixed-wing aircraft
Will crash set back space tourism?
