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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.

5 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. "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: 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?

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.