If you want a space selfie near the curvature of the Earth, forget Nasa. Two former engineering students from the University of Sheffield in South Yorkshire can do this for you in as little as Rs 50,000.
Alex Baker and Chris Rose have been sending up "payloads" to the edge of space via customized balloons. They use a digital camera, some off-cuts of foam and a giant helium balloon that goes 37 km up into near space.
The hills and valleys of Yorkshire might be better known for dormant collieries and tearooms but, since their first launch in 2011, Baker and Rose have been sending these payloads, including a diamond ring, numerous promotional gimmicks, toy cars and newspaper front pages.
They have also sent dozens of family photographs in what they call the "ultimate space selfie". Last week the pair, who call the Sheffield office of their firm Sent Into Space "Cape Kebaberal" in tribute to Nasa's spaceport and their favourite student food, sent up their 100th balloon.
Mr Rose said, "We don't actually have a background in space, but after a few too many ales in the student union we had the idea it would be fun to put a camera on a weather balloon and track it." Since 2011 the two engineers have developed a GPS tracking system to collect payloads after they land and now charge businesses up to £4,000 to send packages to space and back.
They have even had talks with a funeral home about sending ashes into space. They now offer a DIY kit for customers to launch their own balloons for under £500. They even provide all the paperwork to apply for permission to launch from the Civil Aviation Authority.
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