Oolite Bulletins

http://www.gizmag.com/father-and-son-se ... ace/16650/

This is just wild. And the footage is great, especially considering the budget this thing would have come in at.

Every child deserves a father like that....

While absolutely awesome as an amateur project, I unfortunately agree with the commentators complaining about the misleading and sensationalist headlines.

Boo to media.

Huge cheer for the Geissbuhler's though.

I followed the PARIS project avidly... very entertaining.

El Reg's PARIS team have concocted a commemorative cocktail, and are looking for a name for it.

Holy crap, that is AMAZING!

If a dad and his son can send a capsule into space, why did NASA need all that money spent on it?

Now. The obvious question is...which of our number are going to build a Cobra Mk III and send it into space?

Tubular construction for the frame, covered with printed versions of the textures (griffs, of course) with an 80s LEGO space figure as the pilot and some kid of camera or camera phone to take the pics. Who's with me?

Selezen wrote:

Holy crap, that is AMAZING!

If a dad and his son can send a capsule into space, why did NASA need all that money spent on it?

Well, perhaps because those two didn't actually send anything into space.

A balloon in the stratosphere is what countless weather stations around the world are doing every day, and it doesn't cost that much. NASA's money goes into leaving the stratosphere and actually reaching space. The velocities needed for that are unfortunately a bit out of reach for most father-and-son teams. (Which in no way diminishes the admirable achievement of the two guys from Brooklyn.)

Agreed that it's not actual space. Not like it was even close to being able to dock with the ISS or anything. But on bang-for-the-buck factor and showing at least some elements common with re-entry, I still found it delightful.

The PARIS project was also cool, but a couple months after the father/son project. The Vulture did make it a couple miles higher, though.

So yeah, not actual space, but about a third of the way there, which is pretty impressive for the budget and etc.

The USAF awards astronaut wings at 250,000ft or something like that. The father and son managed 100,000ft. OK, maybe not space but still worthy of a high five. Or a very high five.

<waits for laugh track to finish>

I really hope that people are not taking my NASA comments seriously. I know space is space and this didn't get close, but still - on NO budget and with NO training and NO "experts" offering advice, the camera got to a height where fully a third of the globe was visible in the lens and the sky was black with stars shining. Looks like space to me, and it's still really really cool.

I can't tell my son about it. If I tell him then he'll demand that we do it too.

Selezen wrote:

The USAF awards astronaut wings at 250,000ft or something like that. The father and son managed 100,000ft. OK, maybe not space but still worthy of a high five. Or a very high five.

<waits for laugh track to finish>

I really hope that people are not taking my NASA comments seriously. I know space is space and this didn't get close, but still - on NO budget and with NO training and NO "experts" offering advice, the camera got to a height where fully a third of the globe was visible in the lens and the sky was black with stars shining. Looks like space to me, and it's still really really cool.

I can't tell my son about it. If I tell him then he'll demand that we do it too.

I've already had that conversation with my nine year old daughter - 3 years ago we joined the local "Rocket Club" - she just sees this as the next logical step...