Sent Into Space

Sent Into Space is an English aerospace company known for providing services that allow members of the public to send objects to the upper stratosphere for marketing or publicity purposes. The company uses weather balloons attached to a craft and has served many large companies.

History
The company was founded in 2011 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, by Chris Rose and Alex Baker. The two met at the University of Sheffield, as they were both pursuing a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering. The two were having a conversation at a pub when they thought it would be interesting to attach a camera to a weather balloon that was launched up to space. After six months of experimenting, they launched the balloon on 17 December 2010, from Rose's backyard. They uploaded a video of their process and photos the camera took to YouTube, which went viral. Many companies and individuals saw this video and requested for the duo to launch their own items to space, so they decided to start a company for it.

Services
Sent Into Space has been used for publicity stunts, cinematography, scientific research, aerospace research, and education. It has been certified by the Civil Aviation Authority. The company also provides its services to scientists desiring to research the atmosphere. In one mission, the craft was built to take a sample of the atmosphere and discovered a diatom.

The company's balloons are made from latex and are biodegradeable. They also use hydrogen as a lifting gas instead of helium as it is a renewable resource. The company also utilizes 3D printing for many of their equipment. The balloons reach 38 km on average, taking a few hours to reach that height. The air pressure this high causes the balloon to keep expanding, reaching 10 m from an original 2 m until it bursts. Then, a parachute is deployed and the craft takes about an hour to reach the ground. Sent Into Space has a software that predicts where it will land.

Aura Flights, formerly Ascension Flights, is an offshoot of the company exclusively for scattering ashes in the atmosphere. It was launched in 2017 after the technology was first developed in 2015. It appeared on the television programme Dragons' Den, but rejected an offer from Deborah Meaden.

List of objects sent into space
This is a select list of the 1,000+ objects the company has sent into space for notable clients.