iPhone case maker Urban Armor Gear took a stock iPhone 6, encased in the company’s composite case and sent it into space via a weather balloon. The company has now shared a video of the device’s journey, and you’ll be glad to know the iPhone survived. The rest of the rig… Not so much.
The iPhone soared 101,000 feet into the atmosphere, and was subjected to 70 mile per hour winds and temperatures that dropped to -79 degrees Fahrenheit. Though turned on at launch, the iPhone later shut off and froze due to the cold weather
The iPhone was hooked up to a weather balloon rig that included a GPS locator and two GoPro cameras to video the event for posterity. During the descent, the iPhone and the flight rig stood up to 150 RPM rotation speeds. When the rig landed, the rig itself broke, but the iPhone stayed intact.
“Our cases already meet military drop-test standards, but now we can officially say that they are space tested as well,” said Steve Armstrong, co-founder of Urban Armor Gear. “The fact that the iPhone survived its space adventure and returned fully functioning showcases our commitment in providing our customers world-class, or in this case out of this world, protection for their premium devices.”
After the recovery of the iPhone – which was encased in the UAG Navigator case – the device powered on and was fully functional, the screen even came out unscathed.