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
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About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.