Lad's homemade Lego shuttle is out of this world

An 18-year-old schoolboy has given NASA a run for their money by launching a Lego shuttle into the stratosphere.

Amateur space buff Raul Oaida incredibly managed to send the £30 craft soaring 22 miles into the sky to the edge of space, with the help of a giant helium balloon.

The teen enlisted the assistance of Australian entrepreneur Steven Sammartino, 38, on the project after the pair met on a social networking site.

I thought this went nicely with the Lego man article that was also posted recently here. A little light entertainment for Friday. This was actually done in December 2011 but I haven't seen it posted on ATS. The shuttle was superglued together to prevent it falling apart in the harsh conditions of the upper atmosphere and as you might expect from a more aerodynamic shape, this got a little higher than Lego Man. It landed 240 kilometres (150 miles) away from the "launch pad" and was tracked and retrieved via GPS. A pretty cool project. I wonder what will be next, is there a Lego X37-B yet or maybe a triangular craft with 3 lights on the underside?

Source

Wow that was so cool. I'm going to spread that video around.

Very glad it wasn't a kitten.

i wanna see the video of it falling to earth

reply to post by LightSpeedDriver


Cool video. The lad should sell that shuttle on ebay to fund his future launches.

reply to post by iamhobo


Please, no kittys!

reply to post by mikem

I was hoping for a little footage of the descent stage too but there isn't much info on that or how long the flight took. Maybe the camera used didn't have enough capacity, just guessing though.

Wow...I knew there was something fishy about those NASA shuttles and the ridiculous budget that goes with it..

Additional: It was apparently filmed with something called a Go Pro camera. Looks like a nice piece of equipment used by sports people and other extreme types. (I have no affiliation)
Go Pro cams
A promo video of stuff people have filmed looks pretty awesome.

reply to post by LightSpeedDriver


6 hours, said the rag 'The Sun' on the link.



The rag the Sun is, they have to display their sheer stupidity with a comment like this;

The vessel was in the atmosphere for a total of six hours and the project cost a total of £1,900 — a pinprick compared to the £124billion spent by the US on sending shuttles into space.

I don't quite get what comparison they are trying to make, other than over the top sensationalism.

They then add;

Project partner Mr Sammartino said he hopes the launch will help stop preconceptions that mega bucks are needed to fund space projects.

Bad enough they go for the impact kill shot headline.

AN 18-year-old schoolboy has given NASA a run for their money by launching a Lego shuttle into the stratosphere.

Exaggerating 'the edge of space' also unless a third of the way up is an edge, and that is only the technical arbitrary altitude they give astronaut wings out for, being only half way up to an unstable orbit. It's not new a helium ballon can rise to about 1/10th the altitude of a stable orbit.


Not criticizing the kids at all, these projects are great for anyone, especially youths. Great fun, adventure, and a bit of learning. Seems more kids are coming up with a couple/few grand these days to throw at the wind.

reply to post by Illustronic

Hey, it's where I found it. You have a gripe with The Sun, go complain to them. I never said they were a reliable news outlet but the story at least is real. It's Friday, relax a little and just enjoy the film for what it is.

I watched this vid while listening to Neil's DeGrasse's speech to the senate. They went together perfectly!