BURSA, Turkey
A pastry chef from Turkey has sent 600 grams (1.3 pounds) of cheese pastry 39 km (24 miles) high in a helium balloon and released it into the stratosphere over northwestern Turkey.
"We placed the pastry along with a Turkish flag in a special high-altitude balloon and flew it 39 km (24 miles) high into the stratosphere. The whole journey took four hours," Hasan Acar told journalists following the event, which he said, was performed with the intent of promoting Turkish pastry.
Acar said that the helium balloon was brought from Hong Kong specifically for this purpose as it was not available in Turkey.
"We have been working on this for the past two months. We flew the balloon with a group of 100 students. The pastry was up in the air for about half an hour before it landed 95 km (59 miles) away on a field," he said, adding that they were able to locate the pastry box with the help of a GPS navigation device attached to it.
Acar said that the whole journey was recorded with a mini camcorder on the balloon, and the pastry remained unspoilt after hitting -60 degrees Centigrade.
"We will vacuum this pastry and store it at our cafe. But I would like to present the Turkish flag to President Erdogan," he said.
This was Acar's 2nd attempt at a world record after his 2,023-meter (6,637 feet) long pastry entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2012.
This may be the first time a cheese pastry has been launched into space, but Acar is definitely not the first person who has come up with the idea.
Time reported on April 15 that the brothers Alexander and Benjamin Jönsson from Lysekil, Sweden crossed the border into Norway, and on April 8, attached a doughnut and camera to a weather balloon, launching the contraption almost 20 miles above the earth's surface, citing a local news outlet.
The doughnut was in the air for 84 minutes, and the adventure cost just over $1,100, according to CNET.
