Jim Sorenson & Bill Forster have finished up GI Joe Field Manual Volume 2, and to celebrate, Forster shot Cobra Commander into space.
No, really, he did. Sorenson has documented the space launch at his blog, and a video can also be seen from youtube:
Check out the video above, and read on to check out what Forster had to say! After the G.I. Joe Field Manual Volume One was released, I was hard at work with Volume Two when I came across several videos taken of the curvature of the Earth. What was cool about them was it wasn’t done by NASA or the Air Force but rather by regular ol’ Earthlings. After showing one of these videos to my girlfriend Jillian she informed me that her brother had experience with these launches.
Jill’s brother, Jeff Wilschke is an engineer who for fun and research sends video cameras into the atmosphere. Jeff and I spoke about the details and then when the family got together for Thanksgiving he brought along the craft that would carry Cobra Commander over 100,000 feet into the air. It was a hollow Styrofoam cube which contained a GPS for locating the craft after it landed. It also had a video camera facing out a hole in the craft where a fiberglass plank extended from. There Cobra Commander would be glued in place. The craft also contained two tiny computers, one of Jeff’s own design, which would measure temperature, altitude and other sciencey stuff.
Jeff had fitted the craft with two wing-like panels that he had hoped would stabilize the craft and channel wind in an effort to reduce spinning. The panels served another purpose. The foil lining would be picked up by nearby aircraft sensors and would allow pilots to avoid crashing into our little experiment. Although FAA regulations state that our 4 pound craft was well below the weight required to use such tactics, Jeff felt it was worth the extra work.
Then one morning we drove four hours north of Los Angeles to a dirt crossroads of some orchard fields. There we set up the weather balloon. Using a huge helium tank we filled the balloon until it was a specific size which was determined by a large Styrofoam caliper Jeff had constructed. At which point the craft was connected to a small parachute which was then connected to the weather balloon. I had the honor of releasing the Commander’s craft and the payload ascended at such a rate that within seconds it was difficult to see and then soon after it disappeared into the blue California sky.
For the next few hours we followed the craft over miles using the GPS and constant updates from Jeff and Jill’s father Jack who monitored Cobra Commander from his computer at home. Once the balloon exploded from the increasing expansion of the helium it fell back to Earth. The GPS eventually showed no movement and we concluded the craft had landed. Traveling completely through a town and into an industrial park we followed the signal down a dirt road until we saw the craft’s yellow parachute lying in a dirt field. We could immediately see that Cobra Commander was no longer attached to the craft. Could he have fallen off before getting to the apex of the journey? As we walked toward the payload we could see Cobra Commander laying just a foot away. He had been thrown clear as the craft crash landed. Now he sits on my desk, I am fairly sure, having been the only Cobra figure to travel 102,000 feet into the air.
…COBRA!
Shin Densetsu says
GI Joe Field Manual V2 Completed; Cobra Commander Shot Into Space - GI Joe News
GeneralxRon says
That's some High Altitude.. Dude
Starfighter says
That was very cool to see!!! The Commander is reconning his plan of attack.
Mech-Viper says
Another successful mission by COBRA COMMANDER, All Hail Cobra
Un_Chakal says
That's hilarious.
Trigue says
That was awesome!
CrimsonGuard101 says
LOL How the hell did he keep the helmet on all the way? I guess they glued it cause that CC of mine never can keep his helmet on like that haha...
Friggen Awesome...should have been Payload though, could have been the first Joe to space jump!
Spectre says
Damn it all!
Now I want a weather balloon.
netkid says
Now that's what I call a drop test!
orezona says
Weather balloon Dominator?
Keep reading: Cobra Commander Goes Above & Beyond - Page 2
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