Students Fly GoPro Camera to Space, Takes Majestic Earth Footage

Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out what you would see if you fly a GoPro camera and launch it to space?

That’s exactly what a group of Arizona university students did as they decided to launch a GoPro-equipped weather balloon up in the sky over at the Grand Canyon.

The team didn’t do it on a whim though as they did extensive planning before starting with the project. Actually, they spent months to prepare for it as they did parachute testing, wind trajectory calculation, and 3D printing of the camera chassis.

The balloon and camera were eventually released 32 kilometers west on Grand Canyon and it immediately gained speed.

Things took an unexpected turn, however, when they later lost track of the camera as it dropped back to Earth. They blamed the problem to GPS and data coverage difficulties.

However, the phone was found on a desert two years after it landed at roughly 50 miles away from its point of origin. An AT&T employee saw the camera while hiking in the desert and she eventually returned it to the rightful owners.

The recorded footage of the flight was later published on YouTube just last September 10, 2015 and has quickly gained over 3.2 million views as of this writing.

The video even managed to capture the attention of GoPro.

The company commented “One hell of a view! It could only be made better in 4k and we’d love to hook you up with a HERO4 Black for your next flight.”

GoPro, Inc.

Formerly known as Woodman Labs, the California-based company has become the most popular manufacturer of high-definition action cameras often used in extreme sports.

It was founded by Nick Woodman who, as a surfer, found it hard to find professional quality photos while he is in action. In 2004, the company launched its first camera system which attracted a lot of attention.

GoPro has since become a household name among photography enthusiasts across the worl, both amateur and professional.

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