I just thought I would put a very small and short Thank You and send my Sympathies to the crew, family and friends of the Virgin Galactic test flight that crashed earlier today, killing the co-pilot and injuring the pilot. I know I can not do much but say thanks to you publicly.

  I know that this site is not directly related to space flight (commercial or otherwise) but I do feel that anyone who is part of pushing the boundaries of flight and willing to put their lives on the line deserves our admiration and awe.

Without people like these, who are actively pushing the limit we would not have communities such as this one who in our own small way follow their example.

Enough said, below is an extract from ABC Online...

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Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo: Co-pilot killed, pilot injured in test flight crash in California

Updated 26 minutes agoSat 1 Nov 2014, 8:50am

Video: The crash of Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo killed the co-pilot, police said. (ABC News)

Photo: Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo had performed more than 50 test flights. (Reuters: Luke MacGregor)

Related Story: Rocket bound for space station fails in spectacular fireball

Related Story: Virgin passenger spaceship makes powered test flight

Map: United States

United States officials are investigating the crash of a Virgin Galactic spaceship in the Mojave Desert in California, which has killed one pilot and injured another.

SpaceShipTwo, a suborbital passenger spaceship being developed by billionaire Richard Branson's company, was on its 55th test flight and had reportedly been trialling a new fuel.

A witness said it exploded soon after it detached from a mothership after leaving the Mojave Air and Space Port on Friday.

The co-pilot of the spaceship was killed in the crash, while the pilot, who ejected, was injured, Kern County Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said.

The pilot was found at the scene and taken to a local hospital with "moderate to major" injuries, he said.

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Or check

http://www.virgingalactic.com/

For official press releases.

Eyes in the Sky

The name says it all.  It is early days yet but already you can see the influence of larger commercial groups.  The recreational user nearly gets a look in.

However, this is an initial report so that the government can focus its efforts in the right ways.  There is a lot of concern about the invasive use of drones but at least they have also acknowledged other surveillance technology as a risk as well.

It would seem that in Australia the use of autonomous vehicles of any sort will soon become very heavily regulated.  Maybe that's not entirely a bad thing but I would also like to see some allowances made for recreational users.

Without a way to get into the field how do they expect people to get started down the road to commercial applications?

Anyway, I though this might be of interest as it is an official report from a government committee and might foreshadow things to come here and elsewhere.

Alex

Here is a video on YouTube of a DJI Phantom flying through fireworks at Sunfest 2014 which I think is in Florida. It also shows flying above crowds. Personally I think its a stupid idea but the footage of the fireworks is very unique. Dare I say, impressive?

Even crazier is that the pilot put the video up under his name. I hope he is ready for the barrage of comments and possible legal ramifications.

Is this another case of one person doing something that will negatively impact us all or will it ultimately show that small UAV's can be used to do things that other aerial platforms can't?