Okay, so I’ve been wanting to do this high altitude balloon thing for a while, you know, like those cool videos you see online. I finally decided to give it a shot. Here’s how it all went down.
Getting Started
First, I gathered all the stuff I needed. This was mostly online shopping, to be honest. I got:
- A big weather balloon – the kind they use for, well, weather.
- A parachute – you know, for a safe landing.
- A GPS tracker – so I could find the thing after it landed.
- A styrofoam box – to hold all the electronics.
- A small camera – to record the whole flight.
- Some batteries – to power everything.
- And of course, helium! Lots of it.
Putting It Together
Next up, I started assembling everything. I cut a hole in the styrofoam box for the camera lens and taped the GPS tracker inside. I also made sure the batteries were securely connected. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked! I then put the whole payload together. I tied it all up.
The Launch
The launch day was super exciting! I found a big, open field with a few friends (safety in numbers, right?). We filled the balloon with helium – it got HUGE, way bigger than I expected. We double-checked all the connections, attached the parachute and payload box to the balloon, and then… we let it go!
It soared into the sky, faster than I thought it would. We watched it until it was just a tiny speck, and then relied on the GPS tracker to follow its journey.
Tracking and Recovery
This was the nail-biting part. We followed the GPS signal on my phone, driving to where it was predicted to land. It ended up being in a field, thankfully, not in a tree or a lake! We had to walk a good distance but after a little while, we have found it.
The parachute had worked perfectly, and the box was a little banged up, but everything inside was safe. I plugged the camera into my computer, and… boom! Amazing footage of the curvature of the Earth! It was seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.
Final Thoughts
This whole project was a blast. It was a bit of work, and there were definitely moments of “will this actually work?”, but it was totally worth it. I learned a ton, and I’ve got some incredible footage to show for it. If you’re thinking about doing something like this, I say go for it! Just make sure you do your research, be safe, and have fun!