Watch: Etihad sends UAE flag to space

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has sent out the UAE’s flag into space on the eve of the UAE’s Flag Day.

The national carrier released a video on Wednesday showing the UAE flag reaching the edge of space at an altitude of 32,182 meters (105,583 feet) above the Earth. The flag travelled at a speed of 5.5 metres per second and the flight duration was two hours 52 minutes.

The great feat was achieved in collaboration with “Send Into Space”, a high-altitude balloon operator.

The gateway to near-space is the “Armstrong Limit” which is 19.2km. At this height, the pressure is so low that a human being would need a pressurised space suit to survive as blood would boil in the body due to the low pressure. The flag approached twice this height.

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According to Etihad, the flag experienced pressures of almost 0 per cent of that at sea level and the temperature got down to -62 degrees Celsius at its lowest point.

In the early stages of the flags descent, there was no atmosphere to act against the parachute, the flag was falling at around 250mph. As the assembly continued its descent, this slowed to a nice gentle walking pace.

The video also featured a group of four children, sending their wishes and the nation’s flag all the way into space.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi