Father & Son send Iphone Into Space

Posted by Justin Meister at 12:40 PM

In a burst of science-is-fun educational invention, a Brooklyn dad built a carrier for an iPhone (the current model) and an HD video camera, out of a takeout box, tied it to a weather balloon, and let it go with the camera running. It reached a height of nineteen miles, or about 100,000 feet, which is high enough to show the earth's curvature and a black sky above the atmosphere. At that height, the low pressure means that the helium expanded and the balloons burst, whereupon the little cushioned capsule came down, down, down — and landed 30 miles outside New York, signaling to its owners via the iPhone's GPS, whereupon they went and picked it up. The resulting six minutes of rivetingly weird film are sure to make Mythbusters fans weep with joy.

Video can be found here:

 

4 comments:

  1. Justin Meister said... November 20, 2010 at 12:42 PM

    http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/brooklyn_dad_and_kid_send_ipho.html?ref=nf  

  2. Becca said... November 20, 2010 at 2:10 PM

    Wow. I can’t believe that worked out! So many thing could have gone wrong - just in the landing alone, such as ending up in a body of water. I am also surprised it landed only 30 miles outside of New York. It would be interesting to see how different wind patterns might change the course and extent of its trajectory. Sounded like a fun family project!  

  3. Aric Rindfleisch said... November 23, 2010 at 12:52 PM

    Very cool! A great example of how the diffusion of low-cost technology enables everyday people to do things today that were only possible by large organizations just a few short years ago. Technological democracy is here and our accomplishments are only limited by our drive and imagination!  

  4. Brady Frankiewicz said... December 2, 2010 at 8:43 PM

    This is awesome! I think stories like this help encourage tinkerers and do-it-yourself enthusiasts everywhere to keep moving forward with their ideas. Reading this, I was reminded of a similar story I read about a year ago where some MIT students launched a homemade device into space. With about $150 in supplies, they were able to launch a digital camera that photographed the earth's curvature. The picture is really cool:

    http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/the-150-space-camera-mit-students-beat-nasa-on-beer-money-budget/  

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