A 49-year-old German woman who fell ill after riding the Mission: Space attraction at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, US, has died in hospital.

According to an initial autopsy report, the woman had severe long-standing high blood pressure and there was no evidence of trauma, but an official cause of death will not be available for several weeks.

It is the second death linked to the Mission: Space ride in the past year.

In June 2005, a four-year-old boy collapsed towards the end of the four-minute ride and was declared dead after being taken to Celebration Hospital.

The boy had no history of medical problems and a preliminary autopsy report also found no sign of trauma. It was later discovered that he had a rare heart condition.

Launched in 2003, Mission: Space utilises centrifugal force to simulate the weightlessness of a rocket launch.