The Near Space Adventures of Bradfield the Bear
Admit it or not, you probably have a teddy bear somewhere in your past that you were — or maybe are — fond of. Not to disparage your bear, but we think Bradfield might have had a bigger adventure than yours has. Bradfield was launched in November on a high-altitude balloon by Year 7 and 8 students at Walhampton School in the UK in connection with Southampton University. Dressed in a school uniform, he was supposed to ride to near space, but ran into some turbulence. The BBC reported that poor Bradfield couldn’t hold on any longer and fell from around 17 miles up. The poor bear looked fairly calm for being so high up.
A camera recorded the unfortunate stuffed animal’s plight. Apparently, a companion plushie, Bill the Badger (the Badger being the Southampton mascot), successfully completed the journey, returning to Earth with a parachute.
There have been some news reports that Bradfield may have been recovered, but we haven’t seen anything definitive yet. Of course, there are plenty of things you can launch on a balloon, but what a great idea to let kids send a mascot aloft with your serious science payloads and radio gear. Because we know you are launching a balloon for a serious purpose, right? Sure, we won’t tell you just want the cool pictures.
No offense to Bradfield, but sending humans aloft on balloons requires a little more care. We aren’t as well-equipped to drop 17 miles. The Hackaday Supercon has even been the site of an uncrewed (and unbeared) balloon launch. Meanwhile, if you are around Reading and spot Bradfield, be sure to give him a cookie and call the Walhampton school.
youtube.com/embed/l7JiO5356KY?…