One small step for a snack: Chicken nugget is launched into space to celebrate 50th anniversary of Iceland
- Experts used meteorological weather balloon to lift the nugget into stratosphere
- The breaded snack battled -60C temperatures in two-hour journey to 110,000ft
- Supermarket Iceland launched the nugget to celebrate its 50th anniversary
A chicken nugget has been sent into space by supermarket giant Iceland to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Pictures show what is believed to be the first ever chicken nugget to fly into space, reaching heights of more 110,000 feet (33,528m) above Earth – about 880,000 nuggets high.
The breaded snack took just under two hours to reach its peak height above the Earth.
One of the retailer’s most popular items, it battled temperatures of -60C (minus 76F) travelling into the stratosphere from a location close to the company’s head office in Deeside, North Wales.
Iceland sent a solo chicken nugget 110,000 feet into the stratosphere to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary
The breaded snack battled temperatures of -60C (minus 76F) travelling into the stratosphere from a location close to the company’s head office in Deeside, North Wales
A team of experts in the field of stratospheric exploration used a meteorological weather balloon filled with hydrogen to safely carry the tasty cargo towards space.
The custom-designed launch vehicle included primary avionics, auxiliary satellite tracking and integrated camera support system to capture video footage.
Having reached peak altitude, it then headed back towards Earth at 200mph (322kph), with its parachute deploying at around 62,000ft (19,000m) to enable a safe landing.
The altitude reached is equivalent to the height of 880,000 Iceland chicken nuggets.
Dark side of the nugget: A team of experts in the field of stratospheric exploration used a meteorological weather balloon filled with hydrogen to safely carry the tasty cargo towards space
A staple of the frozen food aisles, more than 10 million chicken nuggets, chunks and strips were sold last week alone.
It has been a successful year for Iceland, which has been named the fastest-growing high street supermarket with 20.1% year-on-year growth.
Trading director Andrew Staniland said: ‘2020 is a huge year for us as we celebrate our 50th birthday, and we wanted to find ways to mark the occasion, just like anyone celebrating a birthday in lockdown.
Having reached peak altitude, it then headed back towards Earth at 200mph (322kph), with its parachute deploying at around 62,000ft (19,000m) to enable a safe landing
‘What better way to show that our products are out of this world than by sending one of our customer favourites into space.
‘We’ve all changed the way we shop in recent months and frozen food has never been so popular. We’re looking forward to continuing to celebrate our 50th year with customers and thanking them for their support.’
Iceland partnered with Sent Into Space, a team of experts in the field of stratospheric exploration, to send the nugget into the atmosphere.