Most kids dream about becoming an astronaut when they grow up, but one youngster from New York just couldn't wait for a glimpse of space.

Seven-year-old Max Geissbuhler and his father Luke came up with a solution: send a balloon equipped with an HD video camera and iPhone into the stratosphere - 30 km above Earth's surface.

Father and son packed their equipment into an insulated casing and hitched it to a balloon. They even included hand warmers to help keep the equipment from freezing and a handwritten note from Max to strangers who might discover the balloon.

The experiment was a resounding success. The camera captured amazing footage of the blackness of space and the curvature of the Earth before the expanding balloon burst - as expected - from lack of atmospheric pressure. The team then located their device, protected by a parachute, by utilizing the iPhone's GPS capability.

Despite not technically reaching space - the boundary is usually defined as 100 km above Earth's surface - the camera did get a peek. Not bad for a seven year old.