On October 6th we headed to Lima, Montana with Idaho State University’s Rise Club to launch the Car Fox into space for our client CARFAX. We chose Lima because it was far enough away from lakes and ponds so we didn’t have to worry about losing the fox in water. The ISU Rise Club has experience sending weather balloons up, so the entire project was handled safely and responsibly.
We filled the balloon with hydrogen gas, which is flammable. The crew wore respirators and protective gear for safety reasons.
5 months in the making, it launched without a hitch. The fox made it to almost 90,000 feet, and traveled about 66 miles on the descent, landing in Hamer, Idaho.
The balloon on its way up.
We sent him up with 3 video cameras to capture different views of the trip, and tossed in some satellite tracking equipment so we could find everything once it landed.
Landed safe and sound.
The clip is slowly gaining popularity, and even made it onto our local news channel, KPVI!
Now watch the clip yourself!