How A LEGO Shuttle Got To Space

Raul Oaida, 18-years-old, attached a LEGO shuttle, a video camera and a GPS tracker, to a huge helium balloon and sent them into space. Oaida says flight time was just about three hours and the shuttle reached an altitude of 115,000 feet before heading back to Earth. According to Oaida, designing the spacecraft wasn’t so hard (compared to the jet engine he designed and built before this) but getting a flight clearance was.

Credits

Video from Raul Oaida, additional editing by Flora Lichtman, music by SYNTHAR

Meet the Producer

About Flora Lichtman

Flora Lichtman was the host of the podcast Every Little Thing. She’s a former Science Friday multimedia producer.