http://file3.status.net/i/identica/-20120718T142543-ehlra93.html

I think more of you have emailed me about this than about anything else that anybody has ever done with a Raspberry Pi.

What you’ve just looked at are, we think, the highest ever photographs transmitted live from an amateur device in the UK. Dave Akerman hooked a Raspberry Pi with a webcam and GPS up to a hydrogen balloon, which got nearly 40km up (39,994m, to be precise) before bursting. This means that Dave’s Raspberry Pi is the first Raspberry Pi to visit near space (it returned unharmed, and Dave was able to recover it), and also means that Eben does not have to eat that hat he mentioned.

"And if you introduce a lighted spill to the neck of the test tube..."

Payload ready to go

If you want to learn more, visit Dave’s blog, where he has documented the flight minutely, to find out how he did it. He’s also put up a couple of Flickr sets: one full of images sent from the Raspberry Pi on its journey, and one of photos from the ground. Here at the Foundation, we’ve been reading his page on the project over and over, jaws on the floor. Well done Dave. We’re sending you a big virtual round of applause.