Michigan State University instructor Troy Hale, with the help of students from the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, will launch a weather balloon containing five HD cameras and a GPS unit into "space" in Grand Rapids Sunday.
The launch is scheduled for 10 a.m. at InterMet Systems headquarters, located at 3854 Broadmoor SE, Grand Rapids.
The video collected from the balloon will be displayed at a presentation at Lansing’s Impression 5 Museum. The presentation will allow museum-goers to sit in the middle of five projection screens and feel as if they are riding the balloons into space.
The project is also part of a documentary film being produced by Hale and his students.
Video from the balloon will be available to the media after it is recovered. The balloon will be tracked using the onboard GPS and radio units in real time. The flight is estimated to take between two and four hours. It may travel as far as 60 miles before it lands.
To follow the launch on line, visit www.spaceballoon.cas.msu.edu.
Hale teaches telecommunication and journalism courses in the Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies and Media and is also a Media Sandbox faculty member.
Media sandbox is an integrated media arts program that includes a media arts curriculum, visiting artists, special events and creative projects by faculty and students. It is designed to fill the growing demand for graduates with creative and multimedia skills and experience.