Southampton University Send TEDDY into SPACE

Yesterday morning (3rd March), Southampton University’s Physics Society launched a high altitude balloon into the stratosphere, carrying a teddy bear.  The launch took place in the New Forest where it attracted children and […]


Yesterday morning (3rd March), Southampton University’s Physics Society launched a high altitude balloon into the stratosphere, carrying a teddy bear. 

The launch took place in the New Forest where it attracted children and parents from Toynbee School in Eastleigh, as it was part of an outreach project. They got to see the event as a prize for their help in its completion. The helium filled balloon disappeared from sight in a matter of seconds.

The balloon took its spaceman, Ted (a small, appropriately dressed teddy bear) on the adventure with two cameras and a video recorder attached. The camera’s successfully captured images of almost-space and cloud patterns whilst the video recorded Ted floating above the clouds.

There is also a video of Ted floating in the sky:

Deservingly proud of their mission, the team took to Twitter, with a picture of Ted up in space.

The stunt is part of the Physics Society’s ongoing outreach project and alongside a new society (SU Spaceflight) has the ambition to create more experiments in an attempt to reach ever higher hights.

For more information contact Cait Percy, like Physoc on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @PhysocOutreach. Or if you’re interested in getting involved then find SU Spaceflight at the Bunfight.