Don't we all agree that
BTC should be much higher than what it is now?
Some say the Moon is the limit, but before conquering this satellite we have to reach the...
Stratosphere!!
Ranging from 10 to 50km and with temperatures up to -50 º Celsius this is the second layer of the atmosphere, and yes is from where Felix Baumgartner jumped a couple years ago... Bear in mind that planes go as high as 10km...
So the aim to reach the near-space drives me to present this project to you after some support on this thread:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=482461.0Bitcoin to the stratosphere: The project (Cool tech involved)
First of all I'll start by introducing myself:
I am Pedro, a Spanish (Europe) student now hooked to crypto currencies. I've dealt with quite a few people here on the forums without any problem and I am currently involved on a team to install more BTC ATMs in my country.
This Idea came to me after presenting my summer project "Al-Espacius":
https://twitter.com/AlEspacius here in the forums.
It consisted on launching a Payload that had a GPS tracker and a Radio module inside, coupled with a pair of cameras and bunch of batteries. Tied to a big helium filled balloon that went 31km up in the Sky taking photographs and measuring temperature.
This type of artifacts is what is called HAB, or High Altitude Ballooning, a hobby extended mostly in the UK.
The Idea is simple, a big balloon filled with helium tied to a payload with a parachute,
once the balloon burst the payload descends safely. Inside payload
a tracker and radio module send position data as well as temperature or what ever you tell them to do so (Open source, you can add what ever sensors you want if you know how) Cameras take photographs/video of all the journey.
Here you have some photos of it:
The electronics:
Cameras:
Balloon
Images the ballon took:
Note that the balloon was launched in Spain, the blue mass is the Mediterranean. "Costa del Sol" with Gibraltar and even Africa.
A cool graph:
The sensors measured up to -37ºC
So, what will be done?A balloon will be launched. With a payload with the previously mentioned components, plus another camera pointing to the balloon to see the burst. (More sensors can be aded, but they increase the cost) The capsule will have Bitcoin logo and in order to attract media and attention a Funded coin will be put inside the payload (Such as Casascius) to be auctioned later.
A logo can be photographed with the earth as background like here:
http://www.jwt.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Kit-Kat-Break-From-Gravity-by-JWT-London-still-6.jpgHow it works:
Launch Information:
There will be an online tracker, so everyone wherever they are will be able to track the payload and see the data it is transmitting (Temperature, Altitude...)
It will be launched during this summer in Andalucía, South of Spain as there the terrain is perfect, not many mountains, rivers, roads or cities. Furthermore, getting permission from authorities here is easier.
What is needed?Overall, everything is pretty cheap. Though special parts have to be purchased (I can reuse some from my launch, like the receiver that costs 200€)
Parts:
Arduino Uno
Custom made tracker
Cameras x3 (5 Mpix, with integrated battery)
MicroSD 32GB x3
Batteries (Special ones as they have to work at -30ºC)
Balloon, parachute and ropes:
Temperature sensor:
Helium (depending on payload weight) 3,6M3
What you can do:This is going to be a community funded project, the more funds we can get the more gadgets we and add to the payload and the higher it can go. I am sure the media will be really interested on this (Never done before!)
You could even get an object in the stratosphere and shipped back to you!
There will 2 sponsors spot, like the KitKat but with your logo/bussiness. These spots will be auctioned before the launch day.
The 1 BTC coin in the payload will be auctioned after it is recovered.
20% of all profit made will be donated to The Bitcoin Foundation, bear in mind that I don't do this for profit. But the car consumes gas, and there is a lot of work involved on preparing the payload and making sure everything goes well.
Risks:
The main risk is loosing the payload, and if so the pictures and contents. Although this happening is unlikely as tracker has never failed to me and there are no mountains in the area. Furthermore a prediction is run before launch, it analyses all the winds and forecast, so we know more or less where the payload is goin to land.
You can donate the amount you want to: BTC: 1C2vQXES2RG19tsb7qtpW5A1mGJHS12SDC
LTC: LUyXU7uL539Cchbe65v4Un2bibba7MdnVu
Any Altcoin (Exchangeable for BTC) is accepted! Just PM me and I will post the address.
Funds will be converted to EUR after receiving them due to recent volatility.
If you would like to use escrow to fund this project I don't have any problem, safety first!
I will shortly create a Webpage and twitter to post all the progress made.
