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Angry Birds in Space and the Story Behind Red's Space Slingshot

  • Writer: Sent Into Space
    Sent Into Space
  • 5 days ago
  • 2 min read
An Angry Birds slingshot in space

For those of us old enough to remember, the Angry Birds game was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon when it first arrived on the scene, and it’s continued to captivate peoples’ imaginations – and thumbs – ever since! To celebrate the upcoming re-release of the fan-favourite Angry Birds Space, Rovio got in touch to help them transport Red beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, for real this time…


Stratospheric Slingshot


Building a slingshot doesn’t exactly sound like rocket science, does it? But engineering one to withstand the extremes of space was actually no mean feat; a whole host of burning questions needed to be answered before we could be sure of slingshot success, including:


  • How would the upper stratosphere’s freezing temperatures and near-zero pressures affect the sling’s elasticity?


  • Would the same environmental extremes render the frame too brittle to withstand the tension?


Clearly, it was time to enter the Sent Into Space workshop and start experimenting.


Red from Angry Birds watches the slingshot design process

Research & Development


First up was solving the issue of sling material. While rubber and silicon-impregnated elastic both survived the tech team’s rigorous low-temperature testing regime without snapping, neither could store enough potential energy to fire Red more than a couple of metres. Fortunately, further trials deduced that silicon tubing was just the ticket to supply our avian astronaut with sufficient propulsion in a sub-zero environment.


Turning their attention to the handle, our engineers had a conundrum on their hands. Not only did the frame need to be strong enough to withstand the tension of the slingshot, it also needed to be as lightweight as possible and match the aesthetics of the Angry Birds game. Several additively manufactured solutions were tested to destruction, with varying degrees of success, before settling on a super-stiff carbon fibre skeleton encased in a suitably cartoonesque 3D-printed shell.


The Angry Birds spacecraft and slingshot in the Sent Into Space workshop

Taking Flight


With a meticulously engineered rig in hand and hours of bench testing under our belts, we gave Red a pre-flight safety briefing, sat him in the slingshot pouch and launched him on a real-life journey into space. Curious to see how he got on? You’re only a click away from finding out:



Get in touch now and help your next marketing campaign take flight!

 
 
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