Sent Into Space makes its home in Sheffield, Great Britain and we have a dedicated launch site there, as well as several others dotted across the country, where we can conduct a flight within a few days’ notice. The majority of our launches for our own projects go up from this site. Our proximity to the Peak District National Park means every launch has the opportunity to capture some stunning imagery of the rolling countryside that has earned Yorkshire the nickname God’s Own County.
Where in the world have Sent into Space travelled to conduct space launches?
For many of the marketing campaigns we work on, the actual location where the launch takes place is secondary to the stunning imagery we capture after the fact. They may want to know the details out of curiosity, or to include in a press release or social media post about the launch, but that’s about it. For a lot of campaigns, that makes perfect sense. The image of the Earth from Space is a powerful and instantly recognisable symbol and no great amount of explanation is required to instil excitement and wonder in the viewer.
However, a common inquiry we get is whether we can launch from other locations. Some companies want to release the weather balloon from a significant site, connected to their organisation or the product, so they can see the familiar landscape from a completely novel perspective. In other cases, they plan to make the launch into the climax of a public event, inviting media along.
For example, last year we travelled to Los Angeles to help Crep Protect to run a competition to win a pair of Yeezys, live streaming from the chase down team with YouTube celebrity and Crep Protect brand ambassador Ryan Taylor. Once the flight had peaked and was returning to Earth, we stopped releasing locational data, drip-feeding data to followers via Snapchat and YouTube live. Over 10,000 people were following the descent and once we announced Using the launch as part of a wider competition created an ongoing conversation on their social media with fans, bringing in new customers and extending the longevity of their campaign beyond the event throughout the following weeks.
Launching from a built-up area requires our team to coordinate with local Air Traffic Control to ensure we operate safely and within the confines of airspace regulations. We have plenty of experience working with Aviation Authorities across the world to allow us to launch in the most tricky of circumstances, like the flight we conducted from the centre of Brussels to launch Repos Productions’ new board game, When I Dream.
Further afield, we travelled to the Cayman Islands for DART Enterprise where we were honoured to conduct a launch with the assistance of NASA astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly. These islands are tiny and we knew we would be facing a water landing. To make this launch happen, we constructed a watertight payload and hired a yacht to take us to the landing area. We were on the payload in a matter of minutes, using multiple tracking methods and one intrepid swimmer to recover our result. All in a day’s work.
Every exotic location presents its own challenges. For this launch over the Utah Salt Flats, we had to contend with extreme temperatures not only in space but on the ground. Ensuring that our equipment didn’t overheat during the initial moments of the flight while maintaining the protective insulation that would keep it warm in the subzero temperatures at peak altitude meant a complete payload redesign — not to mention the measures we had to take to ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of our recovery team, many hours' journey from civilization.
For Logan Paul’s NFT-focused launch, our team travelled all the way to Sandy Valley, Nevada, culminating in a helicopter chase across the desert to capture the descent of No.83 from Logan’s 99 Originals polaroid NFT collection.
We have also ventured to other corners of the Earth, for instance, Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by refugees in the area.
Our team went on a jaunt to Iceland to conduct particulate sampling for the microbiologist Professor Milton Wainwright as part of his research into the theory of panspermia.
We might be based in the United Kingdom, but in an increasingly interconnected world, your brand presence probably isn’t restricted by national borders, so our operations aren’t either. We’ve formed strong working relationships with aviation authorities across the world and are experienced at securing launch clearances from the most tricky locations. Our clients know that wherever their marketing requirements take them, we’re ready to meet them to capture the ultimate space imagery.
No matter where you make your home, if you have an idea to conduct a space flight from a specific location, get in touch with our team and see what we can do to make it happen.