It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's ... Your iPhone?

In what must be one of the most unusual iPhone accessories to date, inventor Travis Brooker of Wyoming has created a Near Space Balloon Kit that will literally send your iDevice up as high as 117,000 feet above the earth. Why would you want to do this? According the the project description on Kickstarter, the iPhone or iPod touch has the battery life and GPS to (hopefully) be recovered when it drifts back to earth full of amazing images of the journey.

"Our kit is designed to work perfectly with the iPhone and current generations of iPods. The weight and timing has been done for you so all you need to do is add the specific amount of helium to the included weather balloon!" Travis Brooker via Kickstarter.

We must admit that if all goes well you could end up with some very impressive images of the curvature of earth against the vast backdrop of space. However, we also have some reservations about allowing our beloved iDevices, which are rarely out of our reach, to simply fly away.

Though we know we could use Find My iPhone to track where it lands, one has to wonder how and where it will land. Despite the best of planning, it is still possible that it will deviate from the expected course and end up somewhere inaccessible or on a busy highway.

What if something unexpected happens? We recently covered the story of an iPad that plummeted 100,000 feet to the earth to test a new heavy duty protective case. Watching the video as it spirals to earth is enough to strike terror into the heart of any iDevice owner.

Okay, so the chances of a fighter jet shooting down our iDevice is slim, but what about an accidental collision with other aircraft? Most aircraft fly below 45,000 feet and the balloon has to cross through their airspace twice. According to the additional information supplied by Brooker, it is best to check with your local FAA office to ensure you are not in an area that is restricted for weather balloons such as near a military base or airport.

Even when flying in an area deemed safe, aircraft still might be present, as evidenced by the video below, captured by space photographer Edouard Janssens.

Blackness 2 : jet airliner passing by from Edouard Janssens on Vimeo.

 

Knowing our luck our iPhone would get sucked into an engine, which would very likely void our Apple warranty.

If you are interested in backing the Near Space Balloon Kit with hopes of getting one of your own you will need to pledge $150 on the Kickstarter project page.

We are far too cowardly to send up our iDevice, despite the lure of amazing photographs. What do you think? Would you do it? Let us know in the comments!

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