The Blue Devils have a history of going where no corps has gone before. On October 20, 2012 they made history again by reaching beyond the limits of land, sea, and Earth itself into outer space!
It was 9:25am in Rio Grande City, TX when a weather balloon launched the image of the 2012 DCI World Champions into space. The spacecraft's materials included a thirty-foot diameter weather balloon, six-foot diameter rocket parachute, four GoPro cameras, a Spot GPS tracker, Byonics APRS tracker, carbon fiber rod frame, and 220 cubic feet of helium. Rich Garcia, Blue Devils alumnus from '86 and '87, is the master behind the spaceflight.
The one and a half hour flight reached an altitude of 89,000 feet, capturing images of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on camera. The vessel landed at approximately 11:00am in a dirt field just north of Edinburg, TX.
The entire Blue Devils organization wishes to thank Rich Garcia for approaching them with an out-of-this-world idea and creating a new milestone in their history.
Watch the 35-minute "making of" documentary.