Who needs rockets and multi-million dollar satellites when you can get the same results by spending only $600? This was the thinking of Adam Cudworth, a 19 year-old student from the U.K., who recently sent his Canon A570 camera to the edge of space, in hopes of capturing some cool images of Earth from space. And that he did.


Be sure to check out Cudworth's Flickr photostream to see more pics.

The Telegraph is reporting:

The student spent 40 hours working on a home-made device consisting of a box containing a GPS, radio and microprocessor - which soared to an incredible height of 110,210 ft (33,592m) when he released it last Thursday. After taking two-and-a-half hours to float over 20 miles up into the earth's stratosphere, his contraption captured out-of-this-world images giving breathtaking views of our planet from space. Adam used a GPS tracker similar to a car's sat-nav to follow its progress and an attached radio transmitter to find it when it fell back to earth having reached speeds of over 150mph. The teenager, from Ombersley, Worcs., said: "It's just a bit of hobby really, I just wanted to set myself a challenge - but I'm amazed at the results.


Cudworth placed his contraption in an insulated box, along with a small video camera, two temperature sensors, two high-performance solar panels, a tracking device, microprocessor and radio. He then attached it to a high-altitude two metre latex balloon with a parachute. When all was said and done, he manged to retrieve the package about 30 miles from his home.

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You can read the entire article at the Telegraph.

Via Mashable.

Space photos via Adam Cudworth's Flickr. Inset photo via Nigel Iskander/newsteam/Telegraph.