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GoPro Footage Gives You A Rocket's-Eye View Of Spaceflight (gizmag.com)

Eloking quotes a report from Gizmag: Action cameras have been strapped to dogs, chainsaw-wielding drones and everything in between, but there's a new benchmark for homegrown heroes and their action-cam videos courtesy of UP Aerospace. Having strapped a GoPro HERO 4 to the outside of its SpaceLoft-10 sounding rocket, the company launched it into the thermosphere, gathering some footage that's simply out of this world along the way. The footage is incredible and begs the question: how did they fasten the cameras to a rocket traveling at 3,796 mph? You can watch the footage here on YouTube.

80 comments

  1. Here's a rockets eye view by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Of a frist psot

  2. "begs the question"...-5 style points by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Informative

    English judge voted for disqualification

    1. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      There are two meanings to the phrase. One is used by almost everyone, and everyone knows what it means. The other meaning is only used when discussing philosophy, or when you're trying to look clever on the internet. The problem is, it doesn't work when you use it try to look clever on the internet because it seems to suggest you're completely unaware of the normal usage of the phrase. Which sort of suggests you don't have many conversations off the internet...

    2. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, there is only one meaning to the phrase "begs the question". What's wrong with saying "raises the question"? Those two extra letters hurt to type?

    3. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How so?

      http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/ellipses.html

      In informal writing, an ellipsis can be used to represent a trailing off of thought.

    4. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Incorrect. Language is not some static concept etched in stone, forever unchanging. It morphs to whatever the vernacular says it to be. This is a saying who's vernacular meaning has changed, and no matter how much your pedantic self wants it to be, doesn't change that fact. I get annoyed how people use "literally", but alas, the meaning has changed to mean either "literally" or "figuratively" depending on context. If you can't learn to deal with such things, you're going to have a very rough time in this life.

    5. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is trailing off here? Maybe if it was put inside the quote to show that it was spliced from the paragraph, but as it stands, it adds nothing to the writing and should be axed.

      And no spaces around the ellipsis, which makes it even harder to read after followed by a minus sign.

    6. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "This is a saying who's vernacular meaning has changed"

      "who is"??? Are you a retard?

    7. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Incorrect. Language is not some static concept etched in stone, forever unchanging. It morphs to whatever the vernacular says it to be. This is a saying who's vernacular meaning has changed, and no matter how much your pedantic self wants it to be, doesn't change that fact. I get annoyed how people use "literally", but alas, the meaning has changed to mean either "literally" or "figuratively" depending on context. If you can't learn to deal with such things, you're going to have a very rough time in this life.

      Whoose this vernacular guy then?

    8. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Begging the Question
      petitio principii

      (also known as: assuming the initial point, assuming the answer, chicken and the egg argument, circulus in probando, circular reasoning [form of], vicious circle)

      Description: Any form of argument where the conclusion is assumed in one of the premises. Many people use the phrase “begging the question” incorrectly when they use it to mean, “prompts one to ask the question”. That is NOT the correct usage. Begging the question is a form of circular reasoning.

      Logical Forms:

              Claim X assumes X is true.
              Therefore, claim X is true.

      Example #1:

      Paranormal activity is real because I have experienced what can only be described as paranormal activity.

      Explanation: The claim, “paranormal activity is real” is supported by the premise, “I have experienced what can only be described as paranormal activity.” The premise presupposes, or assumes, that the claim, “paranormal activity is real” is already true.

      Example #2:

      The reason everyone wants the new "Slap Me Silly Elmo" doll is because this is the hottest toy of the season!

      Explanation: Everyone wanting the toy is the same thing as it being "hot," so the reason given is no reason at all—it is simply rewording the claim and trying to pass it off as support for the claim.

      Exception: Some assumptions that are universally accepted could pass as not being fallacious.

      People like to eat because we are biologically influenced to eat.

      https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/53/Begging_the_Question

    9. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Rei · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Except nowadays everyone simply refers to the concept as "circular reasoning". Which is a much easier to parse, grammatically, than the phrase "begging the question".

      --
      "I know you have questions." "That would be why I just asked them."
    10. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by oldmac31310 · · Score: 1

      YOU ARE WRONG.

      --
      http://www.acetonestudio.com
    11. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      It's the beat, you know, the rhythm... It rolls off the tongue. Works better if you say it in a William F. Buckley voice.

      Cameras on rockets? A little less spin is easier on the eyes

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    12. Re: "begs the question"...-5 style points by Livius · · Score: 1

      'Beg' means 'ask'.

      But there are potentially *two* questions that could be referred to. Begging the question can legitimately mean
      1) re-asking the question instead of answering it
      2) answering the question incompletely thus inviting an obvious follow-up question.

  3. Woohoo how exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Right after WWII they took footage on captured V2 rockets. This is hardly new or exciting.

    1. Re:Woohoo how exciting by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Impossible. GoPros didn't exist in WWII.

    2. Re:Woohoo how exciting by 110010001000 · · Score: 2

      Interesting. It is amazing what you learn on the Internet when you truly listen. Thanks.

    3. Re:Woohoo how exciting by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the clarification! I thought you were being serious.

    4. Re:Woohoo how exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you call moi a dipshit? - John Connor

    5. Re:Woohoo how exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Goddamn Poe's Law

      I'm 80% sure you're being sarcastic here, but you never can quite tell.

    6. Re:Woohoo how exciting by zlives · · Score: 1

      ..."Only this and nothing more"...

    7. Re:Woohoo how exciting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are old. Go away.

    8. Re:Woohoo how exciting by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      Good god, man. You nearly Godwinned an article about filming a rocket ascent to space, and its descent. You are tired, go home.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  4. Really? by Qbertino · · Score: 2, Interesting

    So a rocket breack up into 4+ parts and 4 of those stay in 30 meter proximity to each other, floating in space? With the right angle for the go pro to film? ...
    It looks cool but I though at times it looks to good to be true. ... To sceptical I am?

    Your opinion please.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
    1. Re:Really? by kkoo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Not floating but falling together on a ballistic trajectory, and since none of the sections have engines running nor any significant aerodynamic drag there's no reason for them to move quickly apart. Plus there are lots of cameras on the vehicle so they will pick up good views, and you're only seeing selected good bits not the many, many minutes of video where the cameras show nothing interesting.

    2. Re:Really? by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

      I agree. Totally photoshopped and filmed on a soundstage.

    3. Re: Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy shit I've seen this rocket before!
      Also on YouTube but be warned, these guys are actual flat earthers.
      They literally think the rocket stopped going up because it hit water up there and all of space is water.
      All I know is I want what they're smoking.

    4. Re:Really? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      So a rocket break up into 4+ parts and 4 of those stay in 30 meter proximity to each other, floating in space?

      What else would they do?

      With the right angle for the go pro to film?

      There was one shot with particularly fortuitous timing (catching the main body splitting at the right point during a rotation), but that's easily explained by the likely multiple attempts they did in order to create this GoPro ad.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    5. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      THE SHADOWS ARE ALL WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!

      Are you serious? If you are then please commit a you-know-what.

    6. Re:Really? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      So a rocket breack up into 4+ parts and 4 of those stay in 30 meter proximity to each other, floating in space?

      Yep. In the absence of aerodynamic forces, propulsion forces, or any other forces for that matter, what else would you expect them to do? You should go play some Kerbal Space Program so you get some better intuition about it.

      With the right angle for the go pro to film? ...

      What makes you think they used only one camera, or got the shot on the first try?

      To sceptical I am?

      "Skeptical" is not a verb and therefore makes no sense in an infinitive phrase.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    7. Re:Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These folks have to stop with the fish-eyed lens trick to make an impression. It's getting old.

    8. Re:Really? by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      My opinion is that they had many cameras and at least one of them captured the moment of separation.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    9. Re: Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought that was just me being cynical. It did seem pretty amazing that the parts were all relatively... calm. I'd have expected them to all be spinning around based on the last nudge the part received.

  5. Duct tape naturally. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And maybe a little superglue.

  6. How did they by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

    manage to get them started? (wifi?) Did they have extra battery / external power source? More information please. Looks great bit TFA lacks all the REALLY interesting information. :)

    1. Re:How did they by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      They use an electronic ignitor to light the propellant. Yes, I AM a rocket scientist!

    2. Re:How did they by Kierthos · · Score: 1

      Or you watched the recent Mythbusters episode on rockets/gummi bears.

      --
      Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
    3. Re:How did they by dwywit · · Score: 1

      Yes, GoPros have a smartphone app where you can control the camera and watch what it sees, as long as it's within wi-fi range. You can tap the "record" button at t-5 seconds and the camera will keep recording even when out of wi-fi range.

      They can also record (IIRC) around an hour on battery - I think it depends on what resolution and frame rate you select.

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
  7. Spinning by 110010001000 · · Score: 0

    How does the pilot not get sick when the rocket spins like that? It made me motion sick just watching the video!

    1. Re:Spinning by OzPeter · · Score: 2

      How does the pilot not get sick when the rocket spins like that?

      Umm ..

      1) The pilot is knocked unconscious by the high launch forces, so never sees anything?
      2) The pilot spends hours and hours training on a merry-go-round?
      3) The pilot doesn't directly look out the window. Instead he/she watches the video after they de-spin it?
      4) The pilot spent man-hours training on FPS video games?
      5) or maybe because there is no pilot?

      --
      I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    2. Re:Spinning by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Probably all of the above!

    3. Re:Spinning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or in this case, when it was spinning very quickly, I'm moderately sure the video was playing in fast forward and not actually spinning all that quickly. Later in the video it stopped spinning so quickly and without any sort of engine to stop it spinning, it would have continued.

    4. Re:Spinning by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      The pilot is seated on a centrifuge rotating the opposite direction at the same rate.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    5. Re:Spinning by dwywit · · Score: 1

      I wondered about that.

      1. Wouldn't that rate of spin cause problems? I assume this rocket isn't quite as fragile as the recent Japanese satellite, which tore itself apart due to spinning at 78RPM instead of 33.

      2. I thought the stabilisers/fins were there to stop that kind of thing?

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    6. Re: Spinning by dsgrntlxmply · · Score: 1

      Spin is a simple method of stabilizing a rocket by gyroscopic forces (conservation of angular momentum), if the craft and payload are able to withstand and perform as intended while spinning. It works for rifle bullets, where the projectile is spun up by spiral grooves in the gun barrel. It is very simple and robust; in a model rocket you just mount the fins at a slight angle tilted off the axis of the rocket body.

  8. Actually, the question **I** would like to know. . by Salgak1 · · Score: 2

    . . . is not how they affixed the cameras to the rocket and RV.

    What *I* would like to know is how they protected the cameras. Because the drag and heating effects of a ~3800 mph slipstream are going to be noticeable. After all, the leading edges of SR-71s expand substantially, and have been reported to glow from air-friction induced heating. . .and a Blackbird tops out at 2200 mph.

    THOSE details would be far more interesting. . .

  9. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by 110010001000 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I agree. It totally begs the question.

  10. Re: Actually, the question **I** would like to kno by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Mostly time. Blackbird has heat expansion issues because it flies in atmosphere at 2200mph for a long time. The rocket may have peaked at 3600mph, but you only get seconds of that before the atmosphere is too thin to cause much heating.

    Watch old manned launch videos and listen for the term "Max Q". That's the point where atmospheric drag is at its highest (factoring in acceleration and atmospheric density), and it's surprisingly early.

  11. Slow Motion Video by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    It looks cool but I though at times it looks to good to be true.

    Actually you get a hint as to how they did it when they show a very brief clip of video at full speed in space and everything is spinning rapidly and its hard to see anything. So clearly these clips of things majestically floating there are slow motion and in reality each piece is spinning and tumbling rapidly on the edge of space before it falls back down to Earth.

  12. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by cmiller173 · · Score: 1

    I kind of assumed the go-pro was mounted inside the rocket aimed through a quartz window towards a very small angled mirror, itself protected by a small faring, to see down the side of the ship. that way there would be minimal additional drag. At least that is how I would do it.

  13. But to answer the question... by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 5, Funny

    how did they fasten the cameras to a rocket traveling at 3,796 mph?

    I'm reasonably certain that they didn't. They attached it to the rocket while it was stationary.

    1. Re:But to answer the question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *sigh*

  14. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by Wycliffe · · Score: 0

    What *I* would like to know is how they protected the cameras. Because the drag and heating effects of a ~3800 mph slipstream are going to be noticeable.

    Not sure about the heating effect but did you notice the temperature gauge? It bottomed out at -453F. Less than 7 degrees above absolute zero. I would be highly suspect of the gopro being able to handle that low of temperature. I can't imagine the battery, the electronics, or even the plastic being able to survive that.

  15. Re: Actually, the question **I** would like to kno by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Or watch the recent video of the Falcon 9 launch. Max Q is reached about 1:24 after launch at 1900 km/h, 14km altitude. This is about the same altitude as the Apollo missions and a little bit later than the space shuttle, which reached Max Q at about 11km altitude.

  16. "Who's?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Perhaps if people were better educated, they would care about using the language properly.

  17. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by Oliver+Wendell+Jones · · Score: 2

    It didn't appear to be "in space" very long, and as convection heat loss drops along with the pressure and density of the atmosphere, the inside of the rocket should stay plenty warm for it's brief duration up there.

    --
    A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
  18. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by Sooner+Boomer · · Score: 1

    . . . is not how they affixed the cameras to the rocket and RV.

    What *I* would like to know is how they protected the cameras. Because the drag and heating effects of a ~3800 mph slipstream are going to be noticeable. After all, the leading edges of SR-71s expand substantially, and have been reported to glow from air-friction induced heating. . .and a Blackbird tops out at 2200 mph.

    THOSE details would be far more interesting. . .

     

    I don't know how they did it, but an educated guess, based on other sounding rockets I've seen (and some I've built...), is that the cameras are mounted inside the body and look out through a small window (horizontally). A mirror inside an aerodynamic shroud (to reduce drag) allows the camera to see down the body tube.

    --
    Chaos maximizes locally around me.
  19. A trick of the trade by petes_PoV · · Score: 1

    how did they fasten the cameras to a rocket traveling at 3,796 mph?

    They didn't. They used a bit of foresight and attached the camera before the launch,when it was stationary.

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    1. Re:A trick of the trade by mrchaotica · · Score: 1
      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  20. Camera shroud melting on the way up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvDqoxMUroA start at 5:18

  21. An even more exciting place to put a GoPro by JoeyRox · · Score: 1

    Would be the roller coaster pulling its stock price.

  22. Why does it stop spinning? by Ozoner · · Score: 1

    My question is why (how) does the rocket suddenly stop spinning at the top of it's flight?

    1. Re:Why does it stop spinning? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because they stopped playing it in fast forward.

    2. Re:Why does it stop spinning? by caffeinated_bunsen · · Score: 1

      While it's hard to tell how fast it's actually spinning because they keep messing with the playback speed, most payloads don't want to operate while spinning as fast as is required for stabilizing the rocket. They generally use yo-yo de-spin or RCS to reduce the roll rate.

      --

      Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
  23. Re: Actually, the question **I** would like to kno by PPH · · Score: 1

    but you only get seconds of that

    Maybe. On the other hand, during the development of the VT Fuse, the heating due to the shell's short flight was sufficient to melt the solder connection to the antenna in the nose cap. Until high temp solder was used.

    I think the solution (as others have pointed out) is that the GoPros are mounted inside the rocket casing, looking out through high temp windows.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  24. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by Solandri · · Score: 1

    A -453F temperature is only a problem at higher pressures, when there's lots of stuff (air) at that temperature to carry heat away. In a thin or non-existent atmosphere, the outside temperature may be that low, but the rate of heat loss is near zero because there just isn't enough air to conduct heat away. The problem spacecraft have is actually cooling their electronics. Usually it's sent via heat pipes to radiator fins or panels, where it's rejected as EM (infrared) radiation.

  25. Cool, But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is a cool video. But, let's not get carried away by GoPro marketing. There's nothing in the video that we haven;t seen in NASA footage form the 1960's and 1970's.

    It does seem odd that the editor would be so bewildered by how they attached a camera to a rocket? Should I tell him that it's screwed down into a cubby hole built into the fuselage with a shield above it? Does he really think that they simply duct taped a GoPro to a rocket?

    1. Re:Cool, But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does he really think that they simply duct taped a GoPro to a rocket?

      You didn't see the duct tape video ad?

  26. Let's just check by Brett+Buck · · Score: 1

    Hmm, ads disabled, check.
    Hmm, article listed as paid story, no. So it should be safe to read - oh, wait, it's a blatant slashvertisement with a link to a GoPro ad video? Whaaat?

          I love being monetized.

  27. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by caffeinated_bunsen · · Score: 1

    A -453F reading, unless you went to great cryogenic pains, means your temperature gauge is either broken or being used under conditions where it doesn't work. The atmosphere never gets below about -130F, and by the time it gets that cold, it's so thin that it has very little impact on the temperature of big solid objects. At that point, objects interact thermally with the outside world entirely by radiation, which is a very slow way to reach low temperatures. Not to mention the flight was in sunlight and had a warm Earth occupying almost a hemisphere of the view, which would keep things nice and warm.

    --

    Bugrit! Millenium hand and shrimp!
  28. editing made me space sick by k6mfw · · Score: 1

    I sure wish I can just watch one camera footage uninterrupted from start to finish instead of constantly jumping from one camera to another, jumping ahead (ok I get it, they have to fit it all in a 3 minute youtube vid). Even NASA does this with virtually all the footage they post but occasionally you can find the raw footage and watch it in entirety. Yes, it takes longer but let me piss away my time please.

    --
    mfwright@batnet.com
  29. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

    Camera is inside the rocket facing a small downward pointing mirror.

  30. Re:Actually, the question **I** would like to know by Bartles · · Score: 1

    They put the cameras inside the rocket, pointed out a port in the side of the rocket tube. Just outside the port there is a small mirror angled at 45 degrees. The mirror is aerodynamically protected. In the shot at 1:50 in the video when two rocket sections separate you can see some of the mirror housings, they are the little blue smooth bumps sticking out the side.

  31. All your advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The telemetry numbers don't add up. The craft jumps another hundred thousand feet higher without power. Obviously fake.

  32. B.o.B. needs to watch this by oldcarsmell · · Score: 1

    But seriously, even after watching this video, flat earth "truthers" will probably come up with some excuse.

  33. That's not.... by paiute · · Score: 1
    --
    If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine