LEGO Man in Space

On January 26, 2012, two ambitious 17-year-olds from Toronto, Canada, hatched an ingenious plan.  They spent a grand total of $400 on equipment: surplus weather balloons, dozens of tanks of helium, a GPS tracking system, and a small digital video camera.  What were they going to do?
Launch a LEGO man holding a plastic Canadian flag into the air attached to a weather balloon.  The boys (Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad) were clever.  The rigged the camera so you could see the LEGO ascending.  They filled the balloon with just enough air that it would pop once it entered the atmosphere so it would be within range to find it again.  They attached a GPS to it and tracked to the landing location.  They even sewed a little parachute for the camera so it wouldn't break on the way back down. Their plan succeeded without a glitch. The balloon reached the atmosphere.  The camera was retrieved and the footage was breathtaking.  The video is now up on YouTube-- and below!
Watch the flight of the LEGO man now: