I recall an adventurous 8-year-old flying a kite one breezy summer day, believing, if given enough string, his kite could soar above the clouds.
Speaking of adventure, 7-year-old Max Geissbühler and his father, Luke, went above the clouds when they built a homemade spacecraft Max wanted to fly to space.
Their spacecraft’s capsule shell was constructed from lightweight Styrofoam and painted bright orange.
Inside the capsule, insulating foam cushioning protected an iPhone and a GoPro Hero high-definition video camera recorder, which would record the entire trip through a small window.
Hand warmers (the kind we use during cold Minnesota days) were packed around the electronic devices to keep them from freezing.
The capsule was attached to a helium-filled weather balloon expandable to 19 feet.
Stabilizing foam collars were fastened to the balloon to prevent it from spinning around during its ascent.
Tracking the capsule after it landed would be accomplished using the iPhone’s Global Positioning System (GPS) signal being monitored by MobileMe, an online web application used to find lost iPhones or iPads.
Signing into the Apple iCloud website, www.me.com, they will be able to locate the iPhone’s signal and have the capsule’s location displayed to them on a map.
Luke enabled the “Find My iPhone” setting on the iPhone before the launch.
A handwritten note was placed inside the capsule explaining how to contact the people who launched it.
Before the balloon and capsule officially made its liftoff, Max and his father spent eight months researching and testing everything required for a successful flight.
They also reviewed the FAA rules for weather balloons.
The day came when the balloon, its attached capsule, and electronic cargo were ready for launch.
Max, his father, and some friends completed a final checklist from their launch site located in Newburgh, NY.
Once the video recorder was turned on, the homemade space capsule lifted off from the surface of the Earth.
The balloon speedily rose into the sky, with the capsule’s video recorder briefly capturing Max watching the event unfold while standing on a large rock.
The airborne craft ascended upward toward space at a rate of 25 feet per second.
The camera’s video showed the trees, homes, and other objects on the ground quickly become smaller.
At the 2-minute mark, the balloon had risen to 3,000 feet, and continued to climb high into the sky.
After reaching 20,000 feet, the dark blue skies and cottony white clouds hovering below the capsule are seen on the recorded video.
Audio was also being recorded, and sounds of high-pitched swirling winds could be heard.
At 40 minutes into the launch, the capsule reached 60,000 feet.
Turbulent, 100 mph thermal winds were now flipping the balloon and capsule end-over-end; fortunately, the protective cushion was working, and the video recorder continued to record the progress of the flight.
For the next 30,000 feet, buffeting thermal winds tested the durability of all the capsule’s working components.
At 90,000 feet, the capsule ascended above those thermal winds, steadily continuing its journey toward the edge of space.
The onboard camera records a calm scene, showing the Earth and the blackness of space.
The capsule’s tethered “space balloon” had now stretched to 18 feet across, and was 1 foot shy of its maximum expandability before it would burst apart.
Elapsed time since the launch was 70 minutes; the recorded views from inside the center of the stratosphere were remarkable.
A breath-taking bluish curvature of the Earth, with the intense blackness of space in the background was visible in the capsule’s video recording.
After attaining an altitude of 100,000 feet above the Earth, the capsule stopped its ascent and experienced momentary weightlessness.
While stationary at nearly 19 miles above our planet, the balloon expanded beyond its maximum atmospheric pressure limit sustainability – and suddenly burst apart.
As the capsule began its descent, the camera was still recording; showing a view of the Earth, along with pieces of the shredded balloon filling the screen.
The attached parachute deployed and slowed the capsule’s rate of descent speed.
After 100 minutes of recorded video, and just 2 minutes before reaching the ground, the video camera recorder’s batteries stopped working.
However, the iPhone’s tracking signal was still operating; it was transmitting a GPS signal to a cell phone tower, which Max and his father were seeing on the me.com website.
They used the GPS coordinate signal to trace the location of the capsule on a map, showing it had landed in a wooded area 25 miles north of where they launched it.
Searching during the night-time hours, they saw the capsule’s external LED beacon light. Looking up, they found the remains of the balloon and the fully-intact capsule in a tree branch, 50 feet off the ground.
An August 2010 photo shows a smiling Max standing alongside his father, who is holding the orange space capsule, which returned from the near edge of space.
“This thing went to space,” are the words written on the photograph.
Of course, being technically in “outer space” begins at an altitude of 62 miles, or 327,360 feet.
Nonetheless, the feeling of taking a trip from the Earth into space is experienced while watching the video.
Their remarkable adventure can be seen at https://bit.ly/2LF3YN8.
This column originally appeared Oct. 25, 2010, and has been edited and updated for today’s publication by the writer.
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| Inside the capsule; insulating foam cushioning protection |
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| A handwritten note by Max was placed inside the capsule |
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| Packing the note inside the craft |
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| Closing up the capsule and minutes from launch |
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| Stabilizing foam collars were fastened to the balloon. |
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| The balloon speedily rose into the sky, with the capsule’s video recorder briefly capturing Max watching the event unfold while standing on a large rock |
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| 100,000 feet and nearly 19 miles high, the capsule stops its ascent and briefly becomes weightless. One second after this snapshot photo, the balloon expanded beyond its maximum atmospheric pressure limit sustainability – and suddenly burst apart.
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| View upon reentry; the capsule's GPS signal is now being tracked by Luke and Max |
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| The capsule's GPS signal is mapped and its location is now known to Luke and Max. The capsule landed roughly 25 miles from where it was launched. |
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| Luke holds the Space Capsule and deflated balloon as Max smiles for the camera. Mission Accomplished! |