HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Leading sex toy distributor CNV.com announced that it successfully launched an inflatable doll named Missy into space yesterday, and has the video footage to prove it.
The doll launched from Burton Creek State Park, just west of Lake Tahoe using a 4.5 pound balloon filled with about 300 cubic feet of hydrogen. It achieved an ascent rate of approximately 1,400 feet per minute, with its flight path taking it directly over Lake Tahoe, Carson City and then over the deep desert as it climbed to over 100,000 feet above earth.
Missy remained intact up to an altitude of over 100,000 feet, withstanding extreme temperatures and radiation, the company said in a statement. At 102,000 feet, the craft's balloon popped and began to rapidly fall back down to earth. Upon re-entry to the earth's atmosphere, the doll was ripped apart and lost somewhere in the Nevada desert.
"We modified the air plug on the back so that it equalized with outside pressure throughout the flight,” CNV Owner Dave Levine said. “The doll was just filled with air, but enough was allowed to vent during the course of the flight so as to prevent explosion."
While the radio network did not always receive the tracking information sent by the balloon, CNV said it maintained contact using ground-based receivers and backup systems. "Three high-definition cameras recorded up to altitudes of approximately 60,000 feet, yielding the best video of a sex toy in space ever," Levine added.
A team hiked six miles from an accessible road to recover the cameras and SD cards with flight video intact.
While Missy is clothed in the footage, she actually comes nude. To meet the first blow-up doll in space, click here.
Levine, AKA "Sex Toy Dave," began CNV in 1995 and says he successfully launched the first vibrator in space in 2011.
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