Schoolboy’s stratospheric rise

Bryce captured this stunning image at 21,000 metres above Bendigo on a GoPro camera. Picture: BRYCE PEATLING

By Kyra Gillespie

Year 12 Berwick Campus student Bryce Peatling has become a media sensation after successfully recording GoPro footage from near space as part of his Year 12 project.
Bryce has featured on Channel 7 news, the Sunrise program, and the radio where he described how he launched a camera to 21,000 metres using a weather balloon and GPS trackers to retrieve it.
“I think the response has been pretty crazy – definitely a very different experience,” said Bryce about all the recent media attention.
The project idea, to gain photographic images from the stratosphere, quickly became a major task involving hours of paperwork to seek approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
Finding the optimal weather and location to launch was also a challenge. The final location chosen was Elmore, to the north-east of Bendigo, Victoria.
“I had so many doubts; the kids at school were like ‘this is never going to work’.”
Bryce said his biggest concern was retrieving the camera (on loan from a friend), but luck was on his side. The balloon rose to 21,000 metres, where the temperature was -72 degrees Celsius, burst, then fell to earth just an hour’s drive away. It landed in the driveway of a farmhouse.
Bryce rushed to retrieve the images from the camera and said he couldn’t believe the results.
“I am still blown away by the outcome,” he said.
“I just wanted to capture the blackness of space and the blueness of the atmosphere and that’s what I got.”
When Bryce sat down to plan his project, he said he had three main ideas in mind – he wanted to do something different, something risky, and something interesting.
He well and truly ticked those boxes.
His media teacher Nick Zomer said when Bryce initially approached him with the idea he encouraged him to go for it.
“This type of project held significant challenges in the pre-production and launching phases, but to finally see the footage and imagery that has come from it is a real testament to Bryce’s resilience to continue to push boundaries creatively,” Mr Zomer said.
“I’m confident that the finished imagery, once edited in post-production, will be stunning.”