Sheffield PhD Students Alex Baker And Chris Rose Launched Video Camera Into Space For Pounds 350
January 28th, 2011 - 5:59 pm ICT by GDBy Meena Kar
Jan 28, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Two PhD students from Sheffield University, namely Alex Baker And Chris Rose, made their way to fame as they launched a video camera into space for only $350. This is all more impressive as the gross money involved in the project, is less than the price of a second hand hatchback car.
Even the technology that they resorted to, was quite fascinating. They used nothing but a helium filled weather balloon, that was attached to a GPS tracking device and an orange parachute. The two video cameras that were placed in the whole set-up, was well equipped enough to capture the curved surface of the earth from the mid-stratosphere layer of the space. It also partially captured the spectacular view of the dark space of the surrounding universe and the clusters of white clouds beneath. The apparatus went up in the air to a height of about 37 km to fly for about two hours, and then it landed on a field in Cambridgeshire, about 100 miles away from the point where is was launched.
Alex Baker, the mechanical engineering student of the university said that they tried their level best, to accomplish their mission, and are happy that the project finally ended up in their favor. However, he is also concerned because despite equipping the apparatus with a GPS tracker, they failed to get any signal during the flight. Chris Rose, his partner, said that they are happy that they could make it happen within such a small budget. To him, the projects is more thrilling, because it can be undertaken by anyone, without shelling much from his pocket.
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Tags: alex baker, cambridgeshire, clusters, dark space, engineering student, gps tracker, gps tracking device, helium, jan 28, kar, mechanical engineering, parachute, phd students, sheffield university, spectacular view, stratosphere, video camera, video cameras, weather balloon, white clouds