RIP

A Virgin Galactic spaceship exploded during a test flight Friday over California's Mojave Desert ... leaving one crew member dead and another severely injured.

Virgin Galactic says their SpaceShipTwo experienced "an in-flight anomaly" after it launched at 9:15 AM.

The spacecraft is launched after it is released from another aircraft in flight. According to reports the spaceship blew up shortly after the release and it's engines ignited.

The plane that released the spacecraft landed safely.

The spaceship is designed to go 62 miles above Earth. It's unclear how high the doomed craft was when it blew up.

A bunch of celebs have reportedly signed up for the initial launch already -- including Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Justin Bieber.

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson tweeted about the incident, saying he planned to fly to Mojave immediately to be with the team.

Story developing ...

Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa has retained a law firm that will file a major lawsuit over her mom's death ... TMZ has confirmed.

We're told the firm -- Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz -- will file a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic where Joan stopped breathing and the doctors who were involved.

Our sources say Melissa retained the firm Tuesday, but the suit won't be filed for around a month.

We're told letters are going out today to the various people involved in the fatal medical procedure, telling them NOT to destroy records involving Joan's treatment. The lawyers also want phone logs and other documents.

As we reported ... one of the driving forces for Melissa is to figure out how her mom died, but in the end, it's a lawsuit over money.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras -- a 22-year-old rising star -- died Sunday in a car crash in the Dominican Republic.

According to a rep for the team, Taveras was driving the car -- with his girlfriend on board -- when he lost control and the car went off the road. Oscar's girlfriend also died in the wreck.

Officials are investigating the cause of the wreck -- though local police say rainy conditions may have been a factor.

Oscar's teammate Kolten Wong went to Twitter moments ago and wrote, "Wow! My heart truly hurts to hear the passing of Oscar! I've played with him every year and we truly lost a great person! #RIPOscarTaveras"

Oscar was a rising star in the MLB -- and most recently hit a home run during Game 2 of the NLCS against the SF Giants.

Marcia Strassman -- perhaps best known for playing the mom from the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" movies -- died Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 66.

She got her first big recurring role on "M*A*S*H" playing Nurse Cutler ... but struck it big playing the part of Julie Kotter, Gabe Kaplan's wife on "Welcome Back, Kotter."

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" director Bob Weide, a long-time friend of Strassman's, was one of the first to break the news of her passing. He wrote on Twitter, "So sad that a sweet friend, kind person & wonderful actress Marcia Strassman lost her brave battle with cancer today."

Jack Bruce -- who sang some of Cream's biggest hit songs -- has died at the age of 71.

The singer/bass player's family revealed the news on his website Saturday morning ... and his rep tells us he died from liver disease. We're told he had been sick since January.

Bruce sang lead vocals on classic Cream songs like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room."

The group also included Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker ... and they were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Bruce was considered one of the best bass players of all time.

Editorial ... He was awesome. RIP

Scary Kids Scaring Kids singer Tyson Stevens died from a drug overdose, possibly heroin ... that's what his mom and girlfriend told cops.

Stevens died Monday and the official cause of death is unknown. But law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... there's smoke. The girlfriend and mom say Stevens had struggled with heroin addiction for a long time, although he was recently clean.

Our sources say Stevens' body had "old track marks" that had scabbed on his inner right ankle. We're told there was no heroin in the house where he died, but cops did find weed and pipes.

Cops in Washington State say they NEVER abused "August: Osage County" star Misty Upham during multiple run-ins in the past year ... despite what her family is claiming.

Auburn PD says there hasn't been one mistreatment complaint from Misty, her family, the local hospital, or the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.

Misty's family has insinuated police gave her a black eye and swollen jaw during one run-in ... but cops tell us the official report says Upham told officers she sustained the black eye after jumping out of a window.

As for the search for Misty -- whose body was found in a ravine last week -- police say, "Officers immediately followed up on all reports of her possible whereabouts." They say they made several attempts to contact her mobile phone, but her service had been disconnected before she went missing.

As we previously reported ... Misty went off a steep cliff near her home and apparently died from the fall.

Melissa Rivers will sue the medical center where Joan died and the doctors as well because it's the only way she can find out what really happened to her mom.

Sources connected to the Rivers family tell TMZ ... after the New York Dept. of Health and Human Services came out with its findings that Yorkville Endoscopy LLC was "deficient" in surgical services and medical staff ... Melissa tried to find out the root of the problems and if they caused her mom's death, but she was shut down.

We're told Melissa got advice from her lawyers ... the only way to know precisely what happened is to file a lawsuit, which entitles her to force doctors and facility staff to sit for sworn depositions and answer questions about what happened the day Joan stopped breathing.

Melissa, we're told, is frustrated because it's apparent the facility and the Dept. of Health know exactly what happened, so her only recourse is court.

Elizabeth Pena -- who became famous playing Ritchie Valens' brother's baby mama in "La Bamba" -- died from complications from alcohol abuse.

According to the death certificate -- obtained by TMZ -- Pena suffered from cirrhosis of the liver "due to alcohol." She had the disease for months, but it became acute shortly before her death.

The death certificate says the 55-year-old had acute gastrointestinal bleeding hours before her death, which caused her heart to stop.

Pena died October 14th at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A.

Oscar de la Renta -- who recently designed Amal Clooney's wedding dress and famously dressed Jackie Kennedy -- is dead.

De la Renta had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006 ... though it's unclear at this point what caused his death.

De la Renta was born in the Dominican Republic, and became internationally known in the '60s as one of Jackie Kennedy's favorite designers. He had just announced a knockoff version of Amal's now famous gown would be added to his 2015 bridal collection.

He built his brand into more than just a fashion house -- eventually launching his famous fragrance ... OSCAR ... and also a home wares line.

First Ladies Reagan, Clinton, and Laura Bush all wore Oscar's gowns for inaugurations -- and Hollywood celebs Kristen Stewart, Cameron Diaz, and Oprah Winfrey frequently wore his designs.

ABC News first reported his death.

Wrestling legend Ox Baker -- who famously battled Kurt Russell in "Escape from New York" -- has died at the age of 80.

Baker was awesome -- he wrestled with everyone from Hulk Hogan to Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka ... and even had a rivalry with "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

After he retired from wrestling, Baker got into acting ... landing the role of Slag in the famous gladiator-style fight scene in the 1981 classic "Escape from New York."

Baker also appeared on Jackie Chan's "The Big Brawl" and a weird sci-fi wrestling movie called "Blood Circus."

He also had one of the more famous appearances as a contestant on "The Price is Right."

We may never know exactly what killed Joan Rivers ... because a decision was made NOT to do an autopsy ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the NYC Medical Examiner tell us ... Melissa Rivers was despondent when Joan died and told doctors she did not want an autopsy performed. According to New York law, doctors will honor such a request if there's no evidence of criminality associated with the death.

The Medical Examiner has concluded the cause of death was deprivation of oxygen which caused irreversible brain damage. We're told they determined the "predictable" complication involved the procedure itself and not Propofol.

Here's the problem ... we're told without an autopsy it's impossible to pinpoint the nature of the problem. As one source said, an autopsy might reveal a puncture in the throat or other trauma.

The only way Joan's family might get a definitive answer is if a doctor or nurse owns up to a possible mistake ... and even then it's just someone's word.

So the precise cause of Joan's death may forever stay a mystery.

Former "American Idol" contestant Joanne Borgella died Saturday at the age of 32 ... after fighting for the past year against what she described as a "rare case" of cancer.

Borgella's family broke the news on her Facebook page Saturday ... saying the singer passed away around 5:45 A.M. -- adding, "Her faith, courage and strength were unshaken throughout every obstacle she encountered."

Joanne was the first winner of "Mo'Nique's Fat Chance" using the name "Miss F.A.T." in 2005. In 2008, she was on Season 7 of "A.I." and made it into the top 12 girls category.

Last year, Joanne said her cancer was rare because it had spread to her chest -- the family's post on Facebook described it as endometrial cancer ... a form of cancer that attacks the lining of the womb.

Borgella last updated her social media pages about her battle in September ... and said she was going back to radiation for 2 more procedures.

Conrad Murray is weighing in on Joan Rivers' death ... because, after all, he IS an expert on Propofol.

Murray was nursing a frothy drink in Barbados when a photog screwed up the question ... she suggested to Murray Propofol was somehow the cause of Joan's death ... which is wasn't.

Nevertheless ... Murray sang the virtues of the drug, and then launched into his tried-and-untrue argument that he was framed by L.A. County prosecutors in Michael Jackson's death.

The family of Misty Upham no longer believes she killed herself ... they say she ACCIDENTALLY fell off a cliff ... but it's unclear if this is little more than wishful thinking.

The "August: Osage County" star was found dead in a Washington ravine Thursday evening ... she went off a steep cliff near her home and apparently died from the fall.

Her family -- who said they had reason to fear Misty had committed suicide during the time she was missing -- now tells TMZ they believe it was a tragic accident, and that Misty wanted to live.

They say the area where Misty died is very scenic and they believe she was there in a reflective mood. They also say the more they thought about it the less likely they believed it was suicide because she had been talking about her plans to move back to L.A.

Misty's purse and shoes were not on her body ... they were at the top of the cliff.

It's odd the family has so radically changed its opinion. We asked if there was life insurance on Mindy -- that could be relevant because there are typically suicide exclusions -- but they said they didn't know.

3:45 PM PT -- Misty's uncle says they've confirmed it's her body.

The "August: Osage County" star who's been missing since last week may have been found dead ... according to family members.

Misty Upham's family tells TMZ ... one of their search teams found a body in a ravine about an hour ago. They have not been able to reach the body yet because of the steep terrain ... but searchers believe it looks like Misty.

We're told the search team included family, friends and other members of the Native American community around Auburn, WA. They contacted police ... who are now sending officers to help retrieve the body.

As we reported ... Misty's Dad feared she had committed suicide when she went missing after going to visit friends. He says she'd recently changed the meds she was taking to control erratic behavior.

Story developing ...