I did a very similar thing with my group of young volunteer firefighters (also in Germany). We launched a total mass of 500 grams in order to avoid having to get a special permit for this (note: this will change in Germany quite soon!)<p>We also used a Raspberry Pi Model A+, but recorded 720p video. We powered it using a 9V block battery and regulated the voltage to 5V. Worked like a charm!<p>Here's some videos and pics: <a href="http://www.florianerzons.de/yffzhab/" rel="nofollow">http://www.florianerzons.de/yffzhab/</a><p>Edit:<p>Completely forgot. I also wrote some blog posts for anyone asking themselves how this can be done:<p><a href="http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/2/25/yffzhab---taking-videos-at-20km/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/2/25/yffzhab---taking-videos-a...</a>
<a href="http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/3/2/yffzhab---powering-electronics-in-the-cold/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/3/2/yffzhab---powering-electro...</a>
<a href="http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/4/6/yffzhab---bill-of-materials/index.html" rel="nofollow">http://mactunes.de/posts/2015/4/6/yffzhab---bill-of-material...</a>
why people don't attach rockets to such balloons? It is a very old idea, yet nobody so far seems to be doing it. Launch from 30km height without atmospheric drag to speak of would make reaching real space much easier. Is there some obstacle for doing it?
What kind of restrictions are there on airspace use for such project? Airspace might be the wrong word. Is there a chance an aircraft might hit the ballon etc?
European students can apply for the REXUS/BEXUS programme by ESA and a couple of national space agencies. You get to design your own experiment and put it on either a balloon or a rocket.<p>It's a lot of work, but you get to experience the whole lifecycle of a space project -yay documentation/testing- and are supported by their engineers, and you travel quite a bit. (I was in a BEXUS 16 team - the balloon track - and can highly recommend the programme!)<p><a href="http://www.rexusbexus.net/" rel="nofollow">http://www.rexusbexus.net/</a>
Launch site is only 40 km from where I live, fun to find that on HN!<p>If someone wonders what those lines/structures on the hills are - those are vineyards. This region (Baden) is known for very nice wines :)
> The local authorities helped us a lot, the forester aranged the cutting of two trees for us<p>We killed two trees for a 15 minute long youtube video.<p>Is this how little respect we all have for life?