OKINAWA – A Japanese company called Iwaya Giken launched a balloon carrying a hamster from a city in Okinawa. It returned to Earth safely after a journey to the stratosphere on the flying balloon, reported by BFM News.
The company announced that the hamster has been recorded comfortably snoozing during its trip towards the stratosphere which is an altitude of 23 kilometres, reported by The Hokkaido Shimbun Press.
Iwaya Giken is currently dedicated to provide accessible space travel for the public, by launching this experiment they were hoping to give potential future consumers confidence in the practice.
The success of this experiment will boost further manned flight experiments which the company is aiming to carry out within the year.
In Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture, on June 9 the hamster was aboard the cabin developed by the company and lifted off with a balloon.
The balloon was recorded gaining altitude at an average speed of 6.3 meters per second and reached 23 kilometres up in about an hour, which landed in the sea off Miyako Island.
Comfortable journey throughout
With the monitoring sensors Iwaya Giken designed in the cabin, it maintains the internal levels of oxygen, temperature and pressure similarly to the value on the ground.
The hamster is in good health, the hamster could be seen comfortably snoozing during its journey.
The company is planning a manned test flight to a higher altitude of 25 kilometres, which allows spectators to ‘feel outer space’ by observing the curve of Earth clearly.
The company’s spokesperson reassured that “We will continue to carry out experiments so that people can get on board and return safely.”
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Cover Image via Twitter/ NewsBFM and Iwaya.biz
Editor: Sarah Yeoh
