Back storie's of Ryan Curtis's images from www.curtis-photo.com as well as inspirations for present and completed projects
$25 Balloon goes 70,000ft
Its a DIY project, may have to give it a try myself…
DIY projects are all about sweat, tears and learning from mistakes. Just ask a group of electronics hobbyists that recently launched a $25 balloon bought off eBay with a payload carrying an Android G1 phone, two cameras and other assorted electronics up to nearly 70,000 feet in the air.
“Fundamentally, we are all space enthusiasts,” says Mikolaj Habryn, one of the participants.”We wanted to see if you can get a balloon up to high altitudes that can be ultimately used for ideas such as mounting a telescope or measuring radiation levels.”
The team successfully launched the balloon and gathered some great photographs but also made some fatal mistakes in their planning.
The entire project conceived and launched in just about a week comes from members of Noisebridge, a collectively operated hacker space in San Francisco.
Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/spacebridge-diy-balloon/#ixzz0fdcSKh21
-Wired Magazine
