The heavy bomber had a military, government and civilian contractors on board when it came down after what was supposed to be a routine testing mission.
Colonel James Hayes told reporters at the base that "Edwards Air Force Base experienced a horrible tragedy, and we lost eight great Americans."
Hayes said that the long-range bomber has been used since the 1950's by US military.
After the crash, he explained that emergency services were swift to act, however they determined quickly that there would be nobody to save. "It took off, and immediately after takeoff, crashed and burst into flames, After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable," Hayes said.
According to the BBC, in the afternoon briefing, the company said that families of the victims were being notified and their names would be released shortly.
The crash was "totally contained" and the base has temporarily grounded all operations.
No cause for the crash has been determined, officials have stated that it could take up to thirty days to investigate what went wrong. Further analysis of the incident could take up to six months.
The B-52 is a long-range strategic bomber, and has been participating in bombing raids during the US and Israel's war in Iran. The bomber is capable of flying up to 50,000ft, and can refuel midflight which means it has an unlimited strike range. The planes usually carry a team of five, a pilot, radar navigator, an aircraft commander, navigator and electronic warfare officer.
