Near Space Balloon - TEDx Asheville
223 views · Published 18 March 2017 · 3:01 · Indexed 4 November 2026
Channel: Tom Heck · 2017 · Education
In 2012 I volunteered with the TEDx Asheville event (www.tedxasheville.com). That year the theme was "The Edge". The conference explored all things relating to "the EDGE" and I decided this would be a great opportunity to volunteer at my kid's middle school where I worked with one of the science and math teachers and his students. Over the course of several weeks the students designed and built a "near space balloon" that carried a GO Pro video camera and two GPS devices. The balloon traveled to about 100,000 feet above sea level where the helium balloon popped (at 30 feet in diameter!). At that time the payload (an off-the-shelf foam cooler from the grocery store) parachuted back to earth about 100 miles from the launch site in Asheville, NC. This video was shown during the TEDx event to the audience and the students were on stage to answer questions.
