Pathfinder Flight · November 2026 · limited to 20 museums
The hands-on science kids can't get at school,flown to 100,000 feet and led by your seasonal staff.
20 of 20 capsules open
Free. One per museum. Reserve by October 21.
Fly one experiment with us free this November, and see how SHARE could work at your museum.
What is SHARE?
StratoStar flies high-altitude balloons to the edge of space, about 100,000 feet up. We've done it for more than 20 years and 1,000 missions.
SHARE is our student research program. Students design a small experiment in a 50 mL capsule. We fly it, recover it, and send it back with the flight video and data.
Your museum runs SHARE as its own program. We handle everything that flies.
Because weather picks the flight day and you pick the reveal day, every mission brings families back a second time to open their capsule, and an optional Findings Fair, where students present their results, brings them back a third.
- Years
- 20+
- Years
- Missions
- 1,000+
- Missions
- Recovery
- 99%+
- Recovery
Not ready to fly a capsule? Follow the mission instead.
Real research, not a kit
What has been flown?
Every SHARE capsule is a real experiment. Students use the scientific method and the engineering design process to get from a question to results they can defend.
Student work from past missions
Every team finishes with a one-slide research report like these: the question, the hypothesis, what the data said, and what they would change next time. Wrong hypotheses count. That's science.
X-ray of a dental titanium screw · Elementary physics
Would there be enough sunlight at 101,289 feet to expose x-ray film? No: the flown film faded, and only the ground control printed an x-ray.
How every team gets there
01
Ask a question
Students start with something they wonder about: what happens to seeds, yeast or a material at 100,000 feet?
02
Make a hypothesis
They predict what will happen, and why, before anything flies.
03
Design and build
Engineering design: fit the experiment into 50 mL and 40 g, test it, and redesign until it works.
04
Plan three tests
Before launch, students plan three ways to test their sample when it comes home, and keep a matching sample on the ground to compare.
05
Fly
We fly the capsule to the edge of space and back. Students track it live.
06
Test and share
They run their three tests, check them against the hypothesis, and present the results in a one-slide research report.
Not ready to fly a capsule? Follow the mission instead.
We're in this with you
We know what you're up against.
Museum educators are being asked to do more with less right now. These are the problems we hear about most. Tap the ones that sound like your museum to see how SHARE helps.
See SHARE missions in action.
Launch days, flight footage, and what students see when their experiments go up. Pick a video below.
Video 1 of 6
SHARE Mission 0402
Launch day for Mission 0402, the flight that carried several of the student experiments above.
Not ready to fly a capsule? Follow the mission instead.
Questions
The Pathfinder Flight is free: the kit, the flight, your video and data, and the Reveal Kit. If you decide to run SHARE afterward, pricing is simple and based on your scale. There's no obligation.
Your event never depends on it. Weather picks the flight day; you pick the reveal day. The capsules, video and data come home about a week after the flight.
Anything that clears our Safety Manifest and stays under 40 g: seeds, yeast, leaves and materials samples are common. Nothing hazardous flies.
Plan on one build session with your team, plus about 20 minutes to fill out a short planning worksheet. No science background needed.
We re-fly your capsule free. We've flown 1,000+ missions with a 99%+ recovery rate.
The Pathfinder Flight · November 2026
Fly with us this November, free.
We're inviting 20 museums to put one experiment on our November flight to the edge of space, so your team can see SHARE work before you decide anything.
1 · By October 21
Reserve your capsule
Fill out the short form below. We confirm every seat by email within two business days.
2 · Once confirmed
We ship your kit
A capsule, the curriculum, and staff training, so whoever leads it is ready.
3 · Ship back by November 6
You build it
One build session with your staff, or staff and a few students. Pack the 50 mL capsule and mail it back.
4 · Week of November 16–20
We fly it
We fly your capsule to ~100,000 feet when the weather is right. Your team tracks the flight live.
5 · About a week later
You reveal it
Your capsule comes home with its flight video and data. Then a 30-minute call to plan what SHARE could look like at your museum.
20 of 20 seats open. We'll confirm by email within two business days.
You get, free
- A capsule kit shipped to you
- A seat on our November flight to the edge of space
- Your capsule back with its flight video and data
- Curriculum, staff training and a Reveal Kit
- A 30-minute call to plan what SHARE could look like at your museum
We ask
- Ship your capsule back by November 6.
- About 20 minutes on a short planning worksheet.
No capsule needed
Not ready for a capsule? Follow the mission.
Watch the November flight from your desk and see what SHARE looks like before you commit to anything.
- Email updates as the flight comes together
- A live tracking link on flight day
- The post-flight report, with flight video and data