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[b]Educational Balloon Provides Space Shuttle Launch Images and Video from Over 110,000 Feet[/b] Last week a balloon with a student-oriented payload shot high resolution photos and video from an altitude of over 110,000 feet of Space Shuttle Discovery as it climbed into space. These images and video were released today as part of a mission report provided by Quest for Stars representative Bobby Russell at the [URL=http://nsrc.swri.org]Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference[/URL] (NSRC) at the University of Central Florida. The images and video can be viewed online at [URL=http://questforstars.com/]QuestForStars.com[/URL]. Co-sponsored by Challenger Center for Space Science Education, this mission, dubbed "Robonaut-1", is one in a series of flights conducted by Quest for Stars, a California-based non-profit educational organization that uses off-the-shelf hardware and a little ingenuity to allow students to place experiments at the edge of space at exceptionally low cost. Quest for Stars and Challenger Center for Space Science Education have now joined together to promote the use of these low cost delivery systems. This mission was the first of what is hoped to be many future collaborations. A helium-filled balloon carrying the "Robonaut-1" payload was launched at 3:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, 24 February 2011 from Chiefland, Florida, so as to be in position for Discovery's supersonic transit of the stratosphere. The balloon rose rapidly at a rate of over 1,000 feet per minute to an altitude of at least 110,000 feet. The altitude may have been higher but the onboard GPS temporarily suspended operations due to the balloon's speed and extreme altitude. After accomplishing its mission, the balloon burst and the payload descended by parachute. A recovery team retrieved the payload and downloaded its data and imagery. The payload onboard Robonaut-1 was comprised of two Motorola Droid X smartphones (with cameras), multiple GoPro Hero Motorsport still cameras, and several High Definition video cameras. In addition, the payload contained a Motorola i290 mobile phone and a Garmin eTrex GPS system that is connected to a ham radio transmitter. This payload was designed to have multiple means of communication for backup purposes.
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