Hello Kitty's Journey to Outer Space

[krome2ez]

7th-grader’s Hello Kitty figure
journeys to outer space

By Mike Krumboltz

Beam me up, Kitty.

Lauren Rojas, a seventh-grader from Antioch, Calif., sent her Hello Kitty doll more than 90,000 feet into space for a science project—and footage of the doll's journey to the final frontier is causing a sensation on the Web.

Lauren, who explained her project to KGO-San Francisco, said she mounted four small cameras to Hello Kitty's pseudo-rocketship and attached a weather balloon. Then she let 'er rip. At around 18 miles, with the cameras rolling, the balloon—reportedly airborne for some 90 minutes—burst into pieces, and the rocket began its slow descent to Earth.

An attached GPS device made it easier to find. Good thing, too. Hello Kitty landed in a 50-foot tree 47 miles away from its launch site. An arborist was called to help retrieve the "rocket" and its astronaut.

Rod Rojas, Lauren's father, spoke to the Contra Costa Times: "It's been terrific how it's sparking all this interest. It's great because seeing all this, I think it's sparked Lauren's interest in science and pushed it that much further."

The supplies weren't cheap. Estimated price for the project: $500. But its success was well worth it. Annette Cluck, Lauren's teacher, said Lauren "just beams with pride when the students praise her or talk to her about it. She could probably talk about it all day long."


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/7th-grader-hello-kitty-figure-journeys-outer-space-183237726.html Edited February 9, 2013 by krome2ez

[RodandStaff]

That was cool Krome.... and to think... we only

has Estes Rocket's when we were kids!!!

[dog53]

That was cool Krome.... and to think... we only

has Estes Rocket's when we were kids!!!

Wow hahaha I come from the paper folded airplane generation

cool post

[RodandStaff]

Wow hahaha I come from the paper folded airplane generation

cool post

Well of course I started out that way too dog... and on a tight budget we didn't get many "flights" on those Estes rockets... and pretty much lost em all eventually... no GPS Tracking back then!!!

[krome2ez]

That was cool Krome.... and to think... we only

has Estes Rocket's when we were kids!!!

Yep, I thought it cool too.

Things sure have changed since we were kids, huh?

Some good, some not so good.

Edited February 10, 2013 by krome2ez