Five friends sent a GoPro to the edge of space via a weather balloon back in 2013, but unfortunately, they lost contact with the locator soon after take off, a few miles outside of Tuba City. Fast forward to this summer, a hiker in Arizona discovered a box with the names of all five friends on it 50 miles away from their original launch point. They were able to retrieve their equipment, and see just what was recorded. The most prized footage? Grand Canyon as seen from the stratosphere, approximately 98,664 feet above Earth. Continue reading for a video of another camera that was launched to the edge of space.
High-altitude balloons are unmanned balloons, usually filled with helium or hydrogen, that are released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between 60,000 to 120,000 feet. These balloons are launched into what is termed “near space” – the area of Earth’s atmosphere where there is very little air, but where the remaining amount generates too much drag for satellites to remain in orbit.
