Students from the University of Cambridge "Spaceflight" project last week pulled off quite a coup when they successfully dispatched an experimental electronics package into the upper atmosphere strapped to a weather balloon, in the process capturing some impressive images of planet Earth from a peak altitude of 32.2km (105,600ft)
The main objectives of the "Nova 1" test were "to gain experience operating balloon payloads, to test the hardware and firmware of the latest generation tracking device flight", as part of a programme aiming to ultimately build a sub-£1,000 rocket.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/18/nova_1/
And: http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cuspaceflight/nova1launch.html
Homepage: http://www.srcf.ucam.org/~cuspaceflight/