Hey Duggee space week: Toy rocket launched into space from site in Sheffield
and live on Freeview channel 276
The transforming rocket toy was sent up to 120,000ft by the city’s Sent into Space organisation, based near the Parkway, which launches items using stratospheric balloons powered by hydrogen gas. The toy, inspired by the animated children's show, made a cosmic journey to beyond the Earth's atmosphere, into outer space and back, BBC Studios has said.
Its journey was engineered as part of the Hey Duggee Space Week, and the mission will be presented by astrophysicist and comedian Dr Josie Peters. The toy was launched from a green space site in Attercliffe, travelling for an hour-and-a-half and ascending through the atmosphere.
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Hide AdPictures show the Duggee Rocket floating above the Earth, before parachuting smoothly back down and landing near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
“As Hey Duggee puts fun and a 'have a go' attitude at the heart of learning, we couldn't resist this opportunity to send the transforming space rocket toy into orbit and ignite young imaginations on the wonder of space,” said Harriet Newby-Hill, of VIP Marketing, Kids & Family at BBC Studios.
Hey Duggee Space Week runs until December 5, and Dr Peters will share further facts on the mission. To send the Duggee Rocket into orbit sustainably, BBC Studios partnered with Sent Into Space.
“We're passionate about education at Sent Into Space and my little ones are big fans of Hey Duggee, so putting Duggee into space and teaching viewers about our planet is a very exciting project for us,” said Dr Chris Rose, head of projects and business development at Sent Into Space.