balloons

NASA tests super-high-altitude balloon

NASA said Thursday it has performed a test of a prototype super pressure balloon that could carry as much as a ton of research equipment to heights of 110,000 feet or more for up to 100 days.

The balloon, which was launched on December 28, 2008, from McMurdo Station in Antarctica, is 7 million cubic feet and is said to be the largest single-cell, super-pressure, fully sealed balloon ever flown. When the project--which NASA is conducting in coordination with the National Science Foundation--is completed, the space agency should have a 22 million cubic foot balloon to work with.

NASA … Read more

Wii Virtual Console releases for this week

E3 has come and gone, but at least you can count on Mondays to deliver three new Virtual Console games ready for download on your Wii.

Paper Mario (2001, N64, 1000 Wii points)--A game that completely reinvented the Mario franchise, Paper Mario made way for games like the acclaimed GameCube title Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and the more recent gem, Super Paper Mario on the Wii. Balloon Fight (1986, NES, 500 Wii points)--One of the most recognizable games in the history of the industry is now available for download. Few titles have been resurrected as many … Read more

When being a pirate just won't cut it, try a water balloon cannon

Pool toys this summer are getting strikingly high-tech. Or maybe they've been high-tech, but I hadn't noticed because last summer there was no such thing as Crave yet (shocking!) Either way, they're a whole lot more sophisticated than the Super Soakers we had back when I was a kid.

We've already seen that many of the season's hottest (coolest?) water toys are pirate-themed. I like being a pirate. But I realize you might not. If you're more enamored by the idea of trench warfare than high-seas combat, this water balloon cannon, called the Water … Read more

Hot air balloon is shaped like Darth Vader's helmet

I just came across this link to what must one of the more extreme forms of Star Wars fandom to extrude itself onto the Internet in recent memory: A hot air balloon in the shape of Darth Vader's helmet. (Via SciFi Tech and Boing Boing.)

It was created by a mad Belgian inventor named Benoit Lambert, who, according to StarWars.com, received permission from Lucasfilm to build the balloon as long as it was used for non-commercial activities. It can carry two passengers and a pilot. There's no indication of when Lambert will build a lighter-than-air Death Star. … Read more

Finally: An affordable personal blimp

It could be the 21st-century version of the Sunday drive: Blow up the hot-air blimp, take it for a spin, then fold it up and put it away.

Of course, that's assuming you've got $200,000 liquefying your Tiffany money clip.

The Personal Blimp from Skyacht Aircraft made its maiden voyage in late October, and although the company calls it a blimp, it's essentially a steerable hot-air balloon. It utilizes hot air in place of helium and is propelled by electric motors.

Though the cost may seem high for a leisure activity, consider that the average helium … Read more