KFC is finally putting its chicken sandwich where it belongs: at the edge of space. In its latest endeavor to grab your attention, the fast food chain will strap a fried piece of poultry to a high-altitude balloon and launch it into the stratosphere.
The original marketing stunt/science project was scheduled for June 20, but had to be pushed back to June 22 because of bad weather. It has now been delayed a second time. The livestream displayed a message earlier today stating, “Unfortunately, the weather will not permit us to launch today. We will announce another launch date soon. Stay spicy.”
“Launch postponed. But mankind has waited an eternity to launch a Zinger into space, so a little longer can’t hurt. New launch date to come,” KFC wrote on its site.
KFC will eventually livestream the event at kfcinspace.com and on social media.
When it does launch, the Spicy Zinger Chicken Sandwich will float in the upper atmosphere for a couple of days before free-falling back to Earth at 2,000 feet per second.
“Sure, this whole chicken sandwich payload is a bit funny,” Taber MacCallum, CTO at World View, said in a company statement. “But, KFC gets to embark upon a one-of-a-kind marketing experiment, while we get to pursue our first multi-day shakedown cruise in the stratosphere. It’s a win for all.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8eDphtBMjE
The stunt is part of a serious effort by World View Enterprise to launch a high-altitude balloon about 100,000 feet in the air. Its goal is to eventually keep balloons floating on the edge of space for months at a time, providing communication services and scanning the Earth. The balloons could even provide critical communications assistance in regions that face natural disasters. Previous tests kept the balloons floating for hours, but KFC’s chicken flight will hover for four whole days.
The company eventually wants to take humans to the upper atmosphere for an out-of-this-world view. You can already buy tickets for $75,000 that come with Wi-Fi, a bar, and bathroom. You’ll be closer to the sun when you are up there, so make sure to bring along your fried chicken-scented sunscreen.
Update June 29, 9:19am: The KFC sandwich is scheduled to launch in the morning on June 29. You can view the livestream below.
https://www.facebook.com/KFC/videos/10154558162781560/
H/T the Verge
