French Father Fires Kids' Toys into Space

A French father allowed his children to send their toys into space...and managed to retrieve them.

Nicholas L. sourced a helium-filled weather balloon from a US army surplus store, and a parachute and GPS tracker system was shipped from Hong Kong.

After fitting two GoPro waterproof cameras onto his makeshift spacecraft, he gathered his family in a French field and let his children launch the balloon.

The astronauts were an Angry Bird piggy character and a Hello Kitty toy.

The balloon ascends to a height of around 20,000 metres above sea level before popping and the parachute let it drift down into a crop field unharmed.

Springtail jetpack - family transport

Alternative jetpack designs use ducted fans, like this Springtail from Trek Aerospace, or turbojets instead of rockets. These should be able to stay in the air for longer.