Father And Son Send iPhone Into Space And Record Incredible Video (VIDEO)

UPDATE: The iPhone did not record the actual video; it was loaded into the carrier with a high-definition video camera. Secondly, this article stated that the phone was recovered in the dark because of its LED light. It's unclear from the video whether this LED light was coming from the iPhone or from another source.

A father and son from Brooklyn, New York sent an iPhone into the stratosphere a few weeks ago to record a video of the earth's curvature.

The two spent eight months researching and testing their homemade craft, which was made of a weather balloon and a styrofoam case for the iPhone, before launching in Newburgh, NY.

The phone apparently braved winds of 100 miles-per-hour and temperatures as cold as 60 below zero (the iPhone was smartly packed with hand warmers).

The recorded video shows the phone reaching a height of 100,000 feet before the balloon burst, plummeting the contraption back to earth, where it landed 30 miles from the launch point, in a tree, where the father and son found it in the dark because of the iPhone's LED light.

WATCH: (via New York Magazine)

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

Comments

[Tabula rasta]

09:52 AM on 10/25/2010

Kudos!!!
A very clever use of spare time.
It's a crying shame that every young child in America today, can't share in the same wonderment of science & ingenuity.

"With millions of family wage manufacturing jobs lost since 2001, we need an energy bill that takes bold action to tap into American ingenuity in order to lead the world in new clean energy technology, rather than playing catch-up to the Japanese, Danish, ..." - Ali Dayih

[Infostream]

02:59 PM on 10/24/2010

The pic looks like a fake, because the curvature of the earth is too extreme for a view form the stratosphere. But it turns out the curvature is from the wide angle lens of the camera, the video is pretty damn cool for a dad/son project.

But why an iPhone? Is the "genius" Steve Jobs covert-product-placement department lurking around somewhere? Any GPS tracker that costs $150 less than an iPhone would make more sense. Maybe teach your kid the value of a dollar?

My favorite was when Apple not only paid to have the good guys on "24" use Macs, but also paid to have the bad guys use PC's.
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/news/2002/05/52559

[PersianRugZcom]

01:12 PM on 10/23/2010

Great way to spend time wiyh your child. this what I call quality time.

[americanpenguin]

12:37 PM on 10/23/2010

This would have been awesome if they didn't copy it from MIT.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

02:02 PM on 10/24/2010

oh please! it is still beautiful. and all the awe that it gives people that are getting it now-- so cool. and the joy to the kid in the video!! how cool! let's replace that competitive spirit with one of love and beauty, shall we? so cool.

[Scott McIntosh]

07:19 PM on 10/22/2010

This is hilarious. I love the handwritten note by the kid in the package and the checklist scrolled on a yellow piece of pocket paper. Great example of what you can do with everyday stuff (except the iphone part) and create something very interesting. Nice work!

[HarrietteTheSpy]

02:02 PM on 10/24/2010

So great. I agree. And the perspective it gives us all-- bravo!

[Scott McIntosh]

01:29 AM on 10/28/2010

It seems we can all take a look at the big picture...

[EnigmatiC Requiem]

01:02 AM on 10/20/2010

This would be a great story... if it were true. I watched the video and it was amazing.... I read the article. But for me it just doesn't add up. Maybe I'm just too much of a skeptic. :^) But really? For a WEATHER balloon to travel 19miles up up and away and land safely back on earth in some trees 30 some miles away HAS to be a friggin' miracle! Number one the balloon is up in the air over 70 mins and only travels 30miles? How many wind currents would it encounter thru it's 70min journey? Ok. Balloon pops... camera falls at 150mph WITH parachute open? What slowed it down to 15mph when it got close enough to film tree tops? Should still be traveling same speed right? I'm not even going to mention the fact that it was found "IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT" with a LED beacon when the video stops filming two minutes before landing and the video shows the time of DAY to be afternoon. Traffic must be pretty bad that it takes 8hrs to drive 30mi. Oh and when they take pics of the retrieval at the landing site it's daylight again!! THAT...DON'T... MAKE...NO...SENSE! lol but what do I know? I'm just a spectator :^) My opinion.. HOAX! And just like Balloon Boy 1000s fell for it... Hook, Line, and Space Balloon! ;^)

[Hontas Farmer]

12:40 PM on 10/20/2010

1) Traffic is really bad on the Eastern Seaboard even between the big cities. It's a very crowded place.

2.) The camera encountered winds blowing in different directions at different levels of the atmosphere. They added up to a 30 mile trip.

3.) I think you should take a look at this if you don't belive a balloon can get that high. A video about Airforce Pilot Joe Kittinger who rode a weather balloon type contraption to about the height of that balloon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE71aKXjss0&feature=related He sky dived from that height and survived. So sure this is possible.

4.) Don't over analyse this. Remember how one or two years ago we all could have just been happy that balloon boy was alive? Let's just take this at face value, be happy and have some faith. Could the video be faked with a good editor and a PC perhaps. However what it shows is very credible and possible.

[EnigmatiC Requiem]

07:02 AM on 10/22/2010

Thanks for the youtube link! I never meant to convey that I didn't believe the weather balloon could go up that high. I'm just saying I had a hunch balloon boy was a hoax immediately (bad acting by the father) and I get the same vibe from this story, but Hey I really do hope I am wrong because that was a kick arse vid! I did hear about Kittinger earlier today, but didn't research it, but sure enough with NASA equipment he did land about 30mi from launch site! http://stratocat.com.ar/globos/mapas/excelsior-III-map.jpg It was a very interesting video and a cool read

Here's a more detailed record http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1960/HMN-19600816.htm

My gut still says hoax, but I don't want to crush any young child's dream out there with my skepticism... I remember growing up wanting to be an astronaut... A vid like this would've REALLY made me pursue it.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

02:04 PM on 10/24/2010

friend, Imagine what you could create if you put all that time and energy into something you want to create other than debunking something so beautiful! really, think about that -- we reep what we sow. the pictures are awe-inspiring! yes to them! and YES you said it MIRACLE -- peace and goodness and all your dreams to you!!

[Noland Ryan]

04:03 PM on 10/19/2010

Now this guy is a hero in his kids eyes

[HarrietteTheSpy]

02:05 PM on 10/24/2010

I just love the kid and the lollipop and the everyday nature of something so awe-inspiring and perspective shifting! Bravo!

[HLL]

03:24 PM on 10/19/2010

Way cool. Bravo!! ☮

[RATAPWNZ]

03:21 PM on 10/19/2010

this video is amazing. too bad they turned it into an iphone ad. that strange electronic noise you hear is the sound all speakers make when near a phone transmuting a digital signal.

[blackjack19]

02:44 PM on 10/19/2010

I hear Nazi reenactments is another good way for fathers and sons to bond. This seemed to work too though.

[nevarogers]

02:30 PM on 10/19/2010

And how much did NASA spend doing the same darned thing? No wonder they are obsolete to the America.

[nomadic]

02:10 PM on 10/19/2010

This is a great use of imagination and innovation. Imagine if all of us made efforts to put our free time to similar use.... just once a year.
I love the work that went into this effort and it's inspiring to witness such incredible results.
To share those results with all of us is a priceless gift. Thank you.

[HarrietteTheSpy]

02:07 PM on 10/24/2010

Faved! I think if most of the people on Huff Po spent the time doing something other than complaining on huff-po-- wow! just to think of the creativity! going off line now!

[notillegal2]

01:33 PM on 10/19/2010

Great job guys.

[Aldo Rodriguez]

12:46 PM on 10/19/2010

"Can you hear me now?!"

[A terrible sadness]

12:38 PM on 10/19/2010

That is stellar. Now, if only I could be sent into space to see it for myself.