Children, 7 and 9, launch toy astronaut into space using balloon

Two science-mad kids have successfully launched their favourite toy astronaut three times higher than planes fly - reaching the dizzy height of 37,800 metres.

Oscar Adams, aged nine, and sister Layla, aged seven, from Sheffield sent their Blox Spaceman on a two and a half hour journey to the edge of space and back, after attaching it to a payload on a near space balloon flight.

Working with experts from Sheffield based aeronautics company SentintoSpace, the children were able to use a carefully calculated volume of hydrogen to lift the balloon to an altitude of over 37 kilometres.

The balloon reached the size of a double decker bus as it rose, before bursting at peak altitude and sending the toy – with a camera attached to record the journey - spiralling back down to earth.

The lucky pair were afforded the opportunity of space flight by their local Wilko store, after mum Kara wrote into the retailer to say how much the children loved the Blox range of toys.

Karen Jefferys, senior toy buyer for Wilko said: “We love to make Christmas even more special for families up and down the country and wanted to go the extra mile for this space-loving family

“Arranging a space flight from a family home was no mean feat, but we managed to accomplish the mission with the help of Oscar and Layla.”

The children, who regularly do science experiments at home with their mum and dad, couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the footage of the flight after the launch.

Their mother Kara said: “The children are really passionate about science and space – we’ve done lots of experiments and activities at home before, such as freezing things with dry ice, bouncing bubble and even making bouncy eggs – but we’d never dreamed we could send one of their toys into space.

“We kept the experiment a secret from the children as we couldn’t wait to see their faces when they found out about their very own space mission.

“Oscar loves Tim Peake’s story so he was thrilled to have the chance to recreate space flight.”

SWNS