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Samsung’s ‘space selfie’ balloon crash-lands on Michigan farm

Samsung’s ‘space selfie’ balloon crash-lands on Michigan farm

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“911 is baffled.”

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A device used by Samsung to launch a Cara Delevingne selfie into space has apparently made a dramatic return to Earth. Nancy Mumby-Welke of Gratiot County, Michigan, heard a loud crash outside her farmland home this weekend and discovered a large object in her backyard. “Unbelievable look what just fell out of the sky and 911 is baffled and it’s caught up in our tree,” she posted to Facebook along with a photo from the Gratiot County Herald.

“We realized it had fallen from the sky,” Mumby-Welke told NBC News. “It looked like a satellite.” The device carried both a Samsung logo and that of South Dakota-based high-altitude balloon manufacturer Raven Industries, which eventually came to collect the crashed apparatus.

“No injuries occurred and the balloon was subsequently retrieved,” Samsung said to NBC. “We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.” The company claims the landing was “planned” and happened in a “selected rural area.”

Over the top even by Samsung’s standards

As PR stunts go, this one was over the top even by Samsung’s standards. The “SpaceSelfie” program involved a photo of Cara Delevingne that was taken on a Galaxy S10 Plus and was supposedly “the world’s first selfie sent to space.” Users could then upload their own photos to a website for a chance to see them displayed on the screen of a Galaxy S10 5G on board the balloon.

“Our relentless pioneering spirit continues to show that amazing things happen on Samsung screens – even from the stratosphere.” Samsung Europe CMO Benjamin Braun said at the launch event. “Our ethos is Do What You Can’t and the Samsung SpaceSelfie is just that. We continually break the boundaries of what is possible with innovation and tonight’s SpaceSelfie launch is no different.”