planning the deathstar

Ok so we picked a name, that's a good start!
Wolfpack Amateur Radio Photo Experimental Deathstar - WARPED - nice ring eh?
Other ideas were WARBLE and HERPES (don't ask...)

Stage 1 - So the idea is to get a small (lightweight) camera as high as we feasibly can and get some cool pictures with the curvature of the earth, maybe some cool cloud cover, etc.... We think we'll probably have to drive west to release the balloon to make sure that it doesn't end up in the Atlantic ocean. The guys are currently ordering parts from wherever they can be found the most cheaply (eBay, Nascar websites, radio shack, etc...)

We got our hair brained ideas mostly from a group called SABLE who got some pretty darn cool photos of the earth (see photo at left, click to see full sized image), and our ideas have exploded from there.



Stage 2 thoughts - 2 way communication with the payload
Stage 3 thoughts - wireless downloads? Maybe a powered webcam?