Pilot who parachuted out of exploding Virgin Galactic spaceship is conscious in hospital with shoulder injury and 'talking with doctors and family' Peter Siebold, who was named today as injured pilot, is 'alert' in hospital Has shoulder injury and is being treated in California hospital after accident Siebold ejected from Virgin Galactic spacecraft which exploded yesterday Co-pilot Michael Alsbury was killed in the disaster over the Mojave Desert Siebold, 43, who got his pilot license at just 16, is a married father of two He and Alsbury had piloted SpaceShipTwo many times before By Chris Spargo for MailOnline and Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline The seriously injured Virgin Galactic astronaut who parachuted out of the space plane that exploded on a test flight yesterday is awake in hospital and able to speak to his family. Peter Siebold, earlier identified as the sole survivor of the destroyed SpaceShipTwo craft, was today described as 'alert' after suffering serious injuries in the fatal crash. Siebold, a 43-year-old father of two, reportedly suffered a serious shoulder injury in the disaster, and is due for surgery soon. But Scaled Composites, Virgin Galactic's partner company, confirmed today he was conscious and communicative. Critical: Peter Siebold (left, getting prepped with Michael Alsbury before the first guide flight in 2010) was critically injured in Friday's explosion Best friends: Siebold and Alsbury celebrate after completing their run in 2010, which Richard Branson was on hand to watch The seasoned pilot lives Tehachapi, California, near the Virgin Galactic spaceport. He was a wife, Traci, and two children. Michael Alsbury, his co-pilot, was killed when the experimental craft was destroyed at 45,000ft after detaching from another plane which was carrying it over the Mojave Desert in California. A statement from Scaled Composites today said: 'The Scaled Composites family lost a respected and devoted colleague yesterday, Michael Alsbury, who was the co-pilot for the test flight of SpaceShipTwo. Peter Siebold, the Director of Flight Operations at Scaled Composites, was piloting SpaceShipTwo. He is alert and talking with his family and doctors. We remain focused on supporting the families of the two pilots and all of our employees, as well as the agencies investigating the accident. Back at base: Siebold lives in Tehachapi, California, not far from the Spaceport from which SpaceShipTwo flew The company did not go into detail over his injuries. But Siebold is currently hospitalized with his shoulder injury at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California, the LA Times reported. Siebold and Alsbury regularly flew the plane as a duo, and had made successful trips as recently as August 28. Their identities were first reported Friday evening by Flying Mag. 45 shares Branson has yet to say anything about Siebold, although the Virgin CEO was on hand when he and Alsbury flew the plane's first glide flight in 2010. Branson had previously claimed he never met Alsbury. Siebold, a Scaled Composite pilot like Alsbury, flew his first solo flight and gained his pilot's license at 16 - the youngest age possible - and went on to teach flight classes at the San Luis Obispo Airport while he was a student at Cal Poly. He was also one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, a experimental spaceplane that completed the first manned private spaceflight in 2004. Tragic loss: Alsbury (above) was also a married father of two, and his family was close with the Siebold Natural: Siebold earned his pilot's license when he was just 16-years-old By the time of his award, he had logged about 2,500 hours of flight time in 40 different types of fixed wing aircraft. Siebold was airlifted to the hospital on Friday, was heading to surgery on Saturday afternoon in California.