Footage shows the mind-blowing thing that happened after man used balloon to launch GoPro into space
While the latest trend with GoPros seems to be dropping them into the sea for a look at what goes on down there, someone else once put a different spin on things by sending one of the cameras up as high as it would go.
Those dropping them into the sea often manage to find a shark lurking just below them, and their camera lens is met with all manner of inquisitive sea creatures that can't help but have a look.
On the other hand, while you can't quite get into space with a balloon, you can get pretty darn close and take your camera along for the ride.
That's precisely what YouTuber BloonStu did when they used a balloon to float a GoPro up as high as it'd go until it got a damn good view of space and our planet below.
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Launching his balloon from Texas, the GoPro floated up above the clouds until they were nought but tiny features drifting below.
Up and up the GoPro flew until the camera stopped seeing the ground and started seeing the Earth.
The camera could capture the curvature of the planet as it looked down at one tiny aspect of this massive ball that we all live on.
The balloon with a GoPro rose ever higher until the inevitable happened: it burst.
What had seconds earlier been soaring above the world was now tumbling back down to the ground, and even though a parachute was deployed, the air pressure and density this close to space was so thin that it had little impact.
Fortunately, the parachute proved more effective the closer the GoPro got to the ground, and the camera landed safely in a field.
The YouTuber was able to follow a tracking device and locate his gizmo.
He did note that he followed all Federal Aviation Administration regulations and notified the Flight Standards District Office of his launch beforehand.
The man added: "A NOTAM [Notice to Air Missions] was even filed with Ft Worth center for balloon activity."
As for why he did this, he explained in his video: "Mostly, I had free time and needed a project/hobby to keep me engaged and secondly, space is neat."
Space is indeed neat, and if you have a balloon that can fly a camera close to it and have a good look before bursting (which handily returns the camera to you), then what's stopping you?
Joe Harker