EYES ON THE RISE
Hack a $30, single-use camcorder to
make it reusable, then launch it up in a
model rocket and capture thrilling
astronaut’s-view footage of high-speed
neighborhood escape and re-entry.
You can build this project over a weekend and the results are
fantastic. The idea goes back to 1929, when Robert Goddard
launched the first scientific payload on a rocket: a still camera
and a barometer. During the height of the space race, model
rocketry supplier Estes offered a tiny Super 8 film kit that recorded about 10 seconds of rocket POV action. Today, Estes
sells a launchable DV recorder called The Oracle, but it costs
$120 and its image quality is lacking.
We’ll do much better with a new camcorder that costs only
$30, is very light, and has enough memory for several flights. It
was designed for single-use only, but we’ll make it reusable.
NOTE: Pure Digital has changed the firmware in later
versions of the camera, which may make your images impossible to download. Check the current states of hackability in
the forums at
camerahacking.com, or check other options at
makezine.com/07/camerarocket.
Set up: p. 81
Make it: p. 82
Use it: p. 89
John Maushammer reverse-engineered the firmware in all three Pure Digital disposable cameras and figured out how
to connect them to home computers. While not technically a rocket scientist, he has designed hardware and software
for satellites.
