I agree 100% with Ko and Wes. This is nothing new, and he does not deserve any recognition. Amateur scientists have been doing this for years, some even capturing more stunning images than his (such as students at University of Nevada). In fact, many people have done it cheaper than Robert.

As for Sean, I agree with him, too. But the NASA bit is true. However, it's just by chance that NASA stumbled upon his photos. It could have happened to anyone else that has been doing weather balloon near-space photography for the past 20 or so years.