Toronto teens send lego man to space

[Red Squirrel]

http://www.thestar.com/news/article...-on-a-balloon-odyssey-24-kilometres-high?bn=1

This has been done a lot but I always find it stunning to get that type of imagery, from amateurs. Especially on that budget. I really want to try something like that one day.

Forgot the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwLmGR6bPA&

 

[amdhunter]

The Brown kid makes me uncomfortable. Time to bomb Canada USA style.

 

[SparkyJJO]

That is really cool.

 

[lxskllr]

The Brown kid makes me uncomfortable. Time to bomb Canada USA style.

It was obviously a test run for dropping bombs via balloon. I always knew Canuckistan harbored terrorists.

 

[Gothgar]

The Brown kid makes me uncomfortable. Time to bomb Canada USA style.

:awe:

 

[ShawnD1]

I fail to see how this is impressive. Sending a man or a lego man into outer space was never the problem. Getting him back alive was the problem. Russians were remarkably bad at this so they sent other shit instead

Landing on the moon doesn't seem overly difficult either. Surviving is another story.

 

[SandEagle]

so harold and kumar finally do something worthwhile?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I fail to see how this is impressive. Sending a man or a lego man into outer space was never the problem. Getting him back alive was the problem. Russians were remarkably bad at this so they sent other shit instead

Landing on the moon doesn't seem overly difficult either. Surviving is another story.

I think what's impressive is that it's individuals doing it, at with a small budget.

If the space program would do the exact same thing (sending a probe at that altitude to get pictures) it would somehow cost 50 million dollars.

But yeah they do say it's easier to send something in space, than it is to send something to our deep seas. Obviously the bigger the object the more complex it gets. This thing did not weigh much.

Apparently it's a pretty big hit though.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1122175--lego-man-creates-a-stir-in-public?bn=1

They got lot of recognition for it, which is cool. I say kudos to them for doing something productive, instead of getting in trouble.

 

[ShawnD1]

I think what's impressive is that it's individuals doing it, at with a small budget.

If the space program would do the exact same thing (sending a probe at that altitude to get pictures) it would somehow cost 50 million dollars.

It's because the government demands documentation. Some of the engineering stuff I do is for the city and the amount of paperwork is crazy. Without going to the site, I can tell you exactly where every single thing is. The signal house is exactly x*y dimensions, the exact terminal layout on this wall is asdflasdfasdf. If I did that myself, I would just throw it all together and not bother to write anything down. Where are the cables buried? I don't know. Building a tool shed costs you $1000. The government having it done by professional builders and have it documented by engineers is going to cost more like 100-200k.

But yeah they do say it's easier to send something in space, than it is to send something to our deep seas. Obviously the bigger the object the more complex it gets. This thing did not weigh much.

Makes sense. The vacuum of space compared to the inside of the spaceship is 1 atmosphere. Pressure at the bottom of the sea is..... many many many more than that.

 

[waggy]

heard about this in the afternoon! its cool

 

[JulesMaximus]

Pretty cool, you can see the curvature of the Earth and even the moon in the background in a couple shots.

 

[n7]

Fantastic

 

[J-Money]

Our space program is well on it's way!

 

[Analog]

They copied the MIT students from a few years back.

 

[ISAslot]

Could have at least given the poor guy a hat or something. It's cold up there!

 

[Patranus]

How the hell do these things land remotely close to the people who launch them and what happens if they hit an airplane...

 

[Juked07]

It's because the government demands documentation. Some of the engineering stuff I do is for the city and the amount of paperwork is crazy. Without going to the site, I can tell you exactly where every single thing is. The signal house is exactly x*y dimensions, the exact terminal layout on this wall is asdflasdfasdf. If I did that myself, I would just throw it all together and not bother to write anything down. Where are the cables buried? I don't know. Building a tool shed costs you $1000. The government having it done by professional builders and have it documented by engineers is going to cost more like 100-200k.

This is a good explanation for how they end up spending so much more. But it doesn't address whether it's worth it/is the right choice for given projects. Perhaps the government doesn't hit a good "bang for the buck" ratio on a lot of occasions.

 

[gevorg]

I fail to see how this is impressive. Sending a man or a lego man into outer space was never the problem. Getting him back alive was the problem. Russians were remarkably bad at this so they sent other shit instead

Wut? They have to most reliable manned space program to date.

 

[sandorski]

Next: The Lego Deathstar will be launched into Space and the whole Earth will cower before its' might!:ninja:

 

[Ichinisan]

Wut? They have to most reliable manned space program to date.

If I understand correctly, there were many horrific disasters that were suppressed in the Russian media.

 

[Ichinisan]

How the hell do these things land remotely close to the people who launch them and what happens if they hit an airplane...

They probably used an iPhone to record, equipped w/ GPS to retrieve it.

 

[Homerboy]

24km.... what is that? Like 100ft?

 

[Homerboy]

They probably used an iPhone to record, equipped w/ GPS to retrieve it.

but couldn't it technically land on the other side of the world? Let alone in the damned ocean?

 

[classy]

Thats awesome

 

[randomrogue]

Landing on the moon doesn't seem overly difficult either. Surviving is another story.