If they combined this contraption with a drone, they could do some cool stuff
From imgur
My friend and I sent a weather balloon carrying two GoPros to 80,000 feet above central California. The results are absolutely AMAZING.
(source) · 13 hours ago
Pre-launch preps. Liftoff occurred at around 7:30 AM from Porterville, California, about an hour away from Bakersfield. Payload was extremely low-tech. A shoebox wrapped in duct tape, it carried two GoPro Hero 2 HD cameras and a SPOT GPS. The balloon was supposed to carry the cameras to an altitude between 80,000 and 100,000 feet (24-30 km). It would drift south and eventually land in the southern Mojave Desert.
Liftoff!
T+1 min. Camera 1 is pointed straight down at the ground. Unfortunately, we forgot to clear the memory card before launch, so it doesn't record the whole flight. We were so focused on making sure the GPS was working that we neglected the cameras a bit. Oh, well.
Camera 2 is pointed horizontally. This one functions perfectly, taking a photo every few seconds for the entire three-hour flight. Cameras 1 & 2 took a total of 5,226 photos.
T+8 mins, Camera 1.
T+8 mins, Camera 2.
T+10 mins, Camera 1. This is the final downward-facing photo taken by Camera 1.
T+18 mins. At this point the balloon is already ascending through the clouds.
T+22 mins. Out of the clouds; nothing but clear skies above.
T+43 mins. I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miiiilllles. Oh yeah!
T+2 hrs. As you can see, condensation has formed on Camera 2's fish-eye lens. This doesn't turn out to be a problem; it disappears before the balloon reaches peak altitude.
T+2.5 hrs. Peak altitude. We didn't have an altimeter on this flight, but based on pre-launch simulations, we're estimating a max height of between 80,000 and 90,000 feet.
Balloon burst. During the entire ascent, the latex weather balloon has been expanding due to the dropping external air pressure. Finally, it can't take the stress anymore and pops.
This is my favorite image from the flight, taken just after balloon burst. The payload is tumbling at this point, so it is by shear luck that we got a photo of this quality.
The payload tumbles in free-fall for about six minutes before the air becomes thick enough for the parachute to stabilize it.
It's worth noting that our 'parachute' is in fact a run-of-the-mill trash bag.
From imgur
My friend and I sent a weather balloon carrying two GoPros to 80,000 feet above central California. The results are absolutely AMAZING.
(source) · 13 hours ago
Pre-launch preps. Liftoff occurred at around 7:30 AM from Porterville, California, about an hour away from Bakersfield. Payload was extremely low-tech. A shoebox wrapped in duct tape, it carried two GoPro Hero 2 HD cameras and a SPOT GPS. The balloon was supposed to carry the cameras to an altitude between 80,000 and 100,000 feet (24-30 km). It would drift south and eventually land in the southern Mojave Desert.
Liftoff!
T+1 min. Camera 1 is pointed straight down at the ground. Unfortunately, we forgot to clear the memory card before launch, so it doesn't record the whole flight. We were so focused on making sure the GPS was working that we neglected the cameras a bit. Oh, well.
Camera 2 is pointed horizontally. This one functions perfectly, taking a photo every few seconds for the entire three-hour flight. Cameras 1 & 2 took a total of 5,226 photos.
T+8 mins, Camera 1.
T+8 mins, Camera 2.
T+10 mins, Camera 1. This is the final downward-facing photo taken by Camera 1.
T+18 mins. At this point the balloon is already ascending through the clouds.
T+22 mins. Out of the clouds; nothing but clear skies above.
T+43 mins. I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miiiilllles. Oh yeah!
T+2 hrs. As you can see, condensation has formed on Camera 2's fish-eye lens. This doesn't turn out to be a problem; it disappears before the balloon reaches peak altitude.
T+2.5 hrs. Peak altitude. We didn't have an altimeter on this flight, but based on pre-launch simulations, we're estimating a max height of between 80,000 and 90,000 feet.
Balloon burst. During the entire ascent, the latex weather balloon has been expanding due to the dropping external air pressure. Finally, it can't take the stress anymore and pops.
This is my favorite image from the flight, taken just after balloon burst. The payload is tumbling at this point, so it is by shear luck that we got a photo of this quality.
The payload tumbles in free-fall for about six minutes before the air becomes thick enough for the parachute to stabilize it.
It's worth noting that our 'parachute' is in fact a run-of-the-mill trash bag.
to their dedication
