An off-price travel up to 37 km altitude: Two British students have sent a camera into the stratosphere with a balloon inflated with helium. This cheap equipment has withstood freezing temperatures and allowed to bring back spectacular images of Earth from space [visible on www. youtube. com / watch? v = gfgOYsWnisk].
Things have gone through a frosty morning [December 2010], at sunrise, Derbyshire: first, Alex Baker and Chris Rose, two doctoral students at the University of Sheffield, have inflated their balloons with helium . The rubber envelope filled up slowly and then rose slowly, carrying a camera placed in a Styrofoam container.
Alex Baker and Chris Rose are making their public images. This demonstrates once again that it is possible to film the Earth from space for a ridiculous price: the company does not even cost 400 euros. The ball stayed two hours and fifty minutes in the air and reached an altitude of 37 kilometers.
During this journey through the atmosphere, the equipment had to withstand extreme conditions. After the climb, it was between - 30 and - 40 ° C. This is the second time in a short time that this type of amateur experience made headlines. A British team was recently sent into the stratosphere a paper airplane through a balloon.
The two doctoral students of Sheffield have used a similar technique, but adding a parachute to slow the descent. They also equipped their GPS system a router to track the progress of the ball, but the aircraft did not manifest during the climb or during the descent, and only after landing that they were able to obtain the position of the ball.
Baker and Rose were reunited with their polystyrene box in a field in Cambridgeshire, 160 miles from its starting point. "We did it all with a tiny budget to see what was possible," said Alex Baker. Before considering other flights, the two students want to raise additional funds - "to see what is doable." A few days ago, two teams of German students were sent into the sky weather sensors with cameras as part of a contest organized by a TV channel.
Both systems were launched near Amberg. Meingast Friedrich, Billich and Florian Benedikt Bier, University of Erlangen, won the race. Their balloon took pictures of the stratosphere and then landed in Krasna Hora nad Vltavou, Czech Republic. The team competing in the University of Munich, has been reunited with his.
The amateur researchers who wish to do the same in Germany, however, must know one thing: it is not allowed to let go of weather sensors as desired. "We need to request permission online," says Kristina Kelek, Deutsche Flugsicherung [DFS - the agency that manages air traffic in Germany], and this two weeks in advance.
DFS then issues a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen - notice to pilots) to warn drivers, and the probe can then be dropped - at least if it's not near a major airport. It should also prevent local authorities. When one has mastered the art of treachery, he must also confront those of the administration. 
Things have gone through a frosty morning [December 2010], at sunrise, Derbyshire: first, Alex Baker and Chris Rose, two doctoral students at the University of Sheffield, have inflated their balloons with helium . The rubber envelope filled up slowly and then rose slowly, carrying a camera placed in a Styrofoam container.
Alex Baker and Chris Rose are making their public images. This demonstrates once again that it is possible to film the Earth from space for a ridiculous price: the company does not even cost 400 euros. The ball stayed two hours and fifty minutes in the air and reached an altitude of 37 kilometers.
During this journey through the atmosphere, the equipment had to withstand extreme conditions. After the climb, it was between - 30 and - 40 ° C. This is the second time in a short time that this type of amateur experience made headlines. A British team was recently sent into the stratosphere a paper airplane through a balloon.
The two doctoral students of Sheffield have used a similar technique, but adding a parachute to slow the descent. They also equipped their GPS system a router to track the progress of the ball, but the aircraft did not manifest during the climb or during the descent, and only after landing that they were able to obtain the position of the ball.
Baker and Rose were reunited with their polystyrene box in a field in Cambridgeshire, 160 miles from its starting point. "We did it all with a tiny budget to see what was possible," said Alex Baker. Before considering other flights, the two students want to raise additional funds - "to see what is doable." A few days ago, two teams of German students were sent into the sky weather sensors with cameras as part of a contest organized by a TV channel.
Both systems were launched near Amberg. Meingast Friedrich, Billich and Florian Benedikt Bier, University of Erlangen, won the race. Their balloon took pictures of the stratosphere and then landed in Krasna Hora nad Vltavou, Czech Republic. The team competing in the University of Munich, has been reunited with his.
The amateur researchers who wish to do the same in Germany, however, must know one thing: it is not allowed to let go of weather sensors as desired. "We need to request permission online," says Kristina Kelek, Deutsche Flugsicherung [DFS - the agency that manages air traffic in Germany], and this two weeks in advance.
DFS then issues a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen - notice to pilots) to warn drivers, and the probe can then be dropped - at least if it's not near a major airport. It should also prevent local authorities. When one has mastered the art of treachery, he must also confront those of the administration.
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