PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans might be over the moon Wednesday if the team wins the Wild Card game, but the Pirate Parrot already got a chance to go to the edge of space on Sunday.
The Pirates teamed up with the Carnegie Science Center and Stratostar to release a high altitude, helium-filled weather balloon Sunday before the Pirates’ last home game of the season at PNC Park.
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A Pirate Parrot action figure as well as a Pirates flag hitched a ride on the balloon, which rose up to more than 96,000 feet in the mid-stratosphere, or more than 18 miles above the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC-VKFH3JfU
The low pressure of the atmosphere caused the balloon to pop, but the Parrot and flag were guided back to earth by a parachute.
Nearly three hours after the launch, crews recovered the payload from a tree in Cranberry Township.
Officials were proud to report that everything on board survived the mission.
The weather balloon also sent back real-time data about the stratosphere that will be studied by officials.
WPXI
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