Corona | Coming Attractions

If you've watched the Disney/Pixar movie Up -- heck, even if you haven't seen it -- you know the floating house with the balloons from the poster. But could a house like the one that balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen build really work?

Yesterday morning a team gathered on a private airfield east of Los Angeles decided to try and find out. National Geographic Channel filmed the attempt to launch a replica of the house from Up, tied with its cluster of helium-filled balloons, into the sky. Built by a team of engineers, balloonists and scientists, the structure was, from its top to bottom, 10 stories high. But did it work?

Yes it did. For over an hour the Up-inspired balloon rose into the blue sky, rising to an altitude of 10,000 feet. It stayed in the air for an hour before settling back down to terra firma.

The channel will broadcast the Up balloon house flight as a segment on a new series called How Hard Can It Be?, set to debut this fall. To see more photos of the house, including what it looked like from the inside, see the complete article at My Modern Met.