How To: Launch a Camera into Space (On a Shoestring Budget)

Earlier this month, Adam Cudworth, 19, launched a camera attached to a weather balloon into the edge of space. Battling tough winds, freezing temperatures, atmospheric pressure and tumbling speeds, the teenager from Worcestershire, England was able to capture these amazing pictures of the Earth's upper stratosphere.

How to Send a Camera into Space

Adam managed to do this all by himself with hardly any physics background and only a modest budget of roughly $320. Amazing, right? To try it out yourself, take a look at this article on Popular Mechanics which outlines the steps that some MIT students took to send their camera into space safely. It gives a step-by-step breakdown of how to build your own space-traveling balloon for just $150.

Also, this PDF from Make can help you find the necessary tools to build it, which you can do alone as a project or turn it into a fun family outing, like in the video below.

To have a successful expedition into space, your camera will need to be stuffed in a cooler, be equipped with GPS tracking device, and have FAA approval for launch. You don't want to have it shot down, do you?

Think you've got what it takes to be the next Adam Cudworth?