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DIY High-Altitude Ballooning
The Ape With No Name writes "Ever wanted to see the black of space but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so? Well, just build your own small-scale, high-altitude balloon like these guys out of styrofoam, duct tape, electrical kit and a 'consumer-grade' weather balloon. They reached an estimated 52000 feet, had all kinds of tech issues, including hacking code to fly the mission minutes before launch. Cool pics and video were taken throughout the mission. Next flight is in approximately 2 weeks with 100,000 feet the goal."
Ever wanted to see the black of space but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so? Well, just build your own small-scale, high-altitude balloon like these guys out of styrofoam, duct tape, electrical kit
or alternatively, stick two pieces of aforementioned duct tape over your eyelids and experience the black of space right here at home.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Looks like we just launched their server to the edge of space.
>Ever wanted to see the black of space
>but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so?
Yeah - just wait for the sunset.
no...wait a second...that's some nerd's weather baloon..Regardless, alert the FAA!
time is a perception of a being's consciousness
time is your 6th sense, the wierd ones are 7+
Sorry, I must admitt that I partially did that to stress test my server... and it failed. :( It's seeing much blackness at the moment.
Yep - I'm looking for a modification of this design that incorporates a lawn chair and a cooler for some beer. On second thought, I guess it'll be chilly enough without the cooler :)
Ever wanted to see the black of space but just can't pay a cool 20 million to do so?
I could beat you over the head with a pipe until you think that's what happened...
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~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey
Well we bought this balloon and we figured how neat it would be to launch it up! Shame we lost the instructions for putting the helium in but no problem cause we bought an air-bed at Wal-Mart and used those instructions instead mkay? Then we stayed up all night writing kewl software and and GPS tracking plan but then just before launch we noticed the batts were kerflooey so hey we threw away the computer and fixed up an old PCB from a transistor radio which looked quite a lot like it could have been just the right thing. Balloon came down somewhere and we couldn't find it right away but eventuaqlly we stumbled on it and look at these neat pix!
"Don't belong. Never join. Think for yourself. Peace." V.Stone, Microsoft Corporation
Aha! This is just what I need to conduct my clandestine terrorist operations! I mean, forget model rockets! Those were so last month!
That if a baloon, or a styrofoam box happens to get in the way of a jet engine, the mechanics wont' have a clue unless the pilot tells them.
You've got a piece of metal, designed to pull air in at 600miles an hour, heat it up, and eject it back out. Latex is not even worth worrying about.
"Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
"Ah," the pilot remarked, "the dreaded seven-engine approach."