Anxious football fans looking to attend this weekend's FA Cup Final have been told to look to the skies after the FA announced plans to blast two tickets to the edge of space.
The FA and Sentintospace.com will launch two tickets from the centre circle of Wembley Stadium into the air at 6am tomorrow morning.
The tickets are being carried by a helium-filled balloon and will rise to between 36-39km into the air. The flight is expected to take between 90 minutes and two hours before the valuable package returns to earth.
The lucky winners will not only get to see Arsenal's record-breaking FA Cup Final appearance against Aston Villa, but they will also get pitch-side before the game and have their photograph taken with the trophy.
This is to be North London club Arsenal's 19th FA Cup final appearance - a record - and Birmingham side Aston Villa's 11th appearance.
Arsenal are also the trophy holders, beating Hull City in last year's final, whereas it is be Aston Villa's first appearance in the final since 2000.
If Arsenal are victorious on Saturday it will be a record 12th FA Cup triumph for them. If Aston Villa win, it will be their 8th FA Cup triumph, but their first since 1957.
First held in 1871/72, the FA Cup is the world's oldest football competition.
Free FA Cup Final tickets fall from space: Golden chances will be blasted to the edge of the atmosphere and fall to earth on balloons
The two tickets will blast-off from Wembley Stadium at 6am tomorrow
The package will travel around 100 miles before the balloon explodes
The FA will be tracking the tickets and Tweeting the balloon's progress
The lucky winner will get the chance to see the Arsenal v Aston Villa final
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
26 May 2015
Daily Mail
Anxious football fans looking to attend this weekend's FA Cup Final have been told to look to the skies after the FA announced plans to blast two tickets to the edge of space.
The FA and Sentintospace.com will launch two tickets from the centre circle of Wembley Stadium into the air at 6am tomorrow morning.
The tickets are being carried by a helium-filled balloon and will rise to between 36-39km into the air. The flight is expected to take between 90 minutes and two hours before the valuable package returns to earth.
The package containing the two FA Cup Final tickets will be launched from Wembley Stadium tomorrow. (Above) Arsenal celebrate after beating Hull City 3-2 after extra time to lift the trophy last year. Appearing in their record 19th FA Cup Final on Saturday, they are hoping to lift the trophy for a record 12th time
The winners will get the chance to see Arsenal v Aston Villa in Saturday's crunch match at Wembley
The tickets will be carried on helium-filled balloon, similar to this one, and fly approximately 100 miles
The lucky winners will not only get to see Arsenal's record-breaking FA Cup Final appearance against Aston Villa, but they will also get pitch-side before the game and have their photograph taken with the trophy.
The FA will tweet progress reports from 6am when the balloon is launched and for the duration of its flight.
It is expected that the balloon will face winds of up to 100mph and temperatures of -50C as it travels across London.
The FA has received special permission from the Civil Aviation Authority for the 6am launch.
The balloon and the special cargo will be tracked using GPS signals which will be relayed to anxious fans tomorrow over Twitter.
Lucy Roberts-Hartley, Marketing Manager for The FA Cup, said:
'This season’s competition has truly been one to remember - on and off the pitch. The Cup has travelled to the South Pole and on the pitch we’ve seen some of the most memorable matches in FA Cup history.
'Sending the final pair of tickets into space is a great way to finish the off-pitch adventure. We hope the fan that discovers the tickets also enjoys an out-of-this-world match on Saturday.'
The tickets will reach 36km in height before the balloon explodes and sends the package back to earth
Alex Baker of Sentintospace.com said he expected the balloon will travel approximately 100 miles before the tickets fall to earth.
He said the early morning launch was necessary to avoid interfering with busy flight lanes.
'Tomorrow we are using helium to fill the balloon. Sometimes we can use hydrogen. Hydrogen is a better gas as it produces more lift for the same volume, but it has its own problems.
'After launch, the balloon will go up to approximately 36km. As it ascends the air pressure outside drops and balloon expands. At launch, it is approximately two metres in diameter. At 36km it will have expanded to around 10 metres where it will explode.
'The package with the ticket will plummet at almost 200 metres per second at that altitude, but once the air pressure increases, the speed will decrease and the parachute will deploy.
'We expect it to be back on the ground between 8.30am and 9am.'
The official match programme for this year's FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Wembley. Arsenal, making a record 19th appearance in the final, are hoping to win the trophy for the second season on the trot and for a record 12th time, whereas Villa are hoping to win the trophy for the first time since 1957 and for an eighth time
Read more: Free FA Cup final tickets will be blasted to edge of space and fall to earth | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
The FA and Sentintospace.com will launch two tickets from the centre circle of Wembley Stadium into the air at 6am tomorrow morning.
The tickets are being carried by a helium-filled balloon and will rise to between 36-39km into the air. The flight is expected to take between 90 minutes and two hours before the valuable package returns to earth.
The lucky winners will not only get to see Arsenal's record-breaking FA Cup Final appearance against Aston Villa, but they will also get pitch-side before the game and have their photograph taken with the trophy.
This is to be North London club Arsenal's 19th FA Cup final appearance - a record - and Birmingham side Aston Villa's 11th appearance.
Arsenal are also the trophy holders, beating Hull City in last year's final, whereas it is be Aston Villa's first appearance in the final since 2000.
If Arsenal are victorious on Saturday it will be a record 12th FA Cup triumph for them. If Aston Villa win, it will be their 8th FA Cup triumph, but their first since 1957.
First held in 1871/72, the FA Cup is the world's oldest football competition.
Free FA Cup Final tickets fall from space: Golden chances will be blasted to the edge of the atmosphere and fall to earth on balloons
The two tickets will blast-off from Wembley Stadium at 6am tomorrow
The package will travel around 100 miles before the balloon explodes
The FA will be tracking the tickets and Tweeting the balloon's progress
The lucky winner will get the chance to see the Arsenal v Aston Villa final
By Darren Boyle for MailOnline
26 May 2015
Daily Mail
Anxious football fans looking to attend this weekend's FA Cup Final have been told to look to the skies after the FA announced plans to blast two tickets to the edge of space.
The FA and Sentintospace.com will launch two tickets from the centre circle of Wembley Stadium into the air at 6am tomorrow morning.
The tickets are being carried by a helium-filled balloon and will rise to between 36-39km into the air. The flight is expected to take between 90 minutes and two hours before the valuable package returns to earth.
The package containing the two FA Cup Final tickets will be launched from Wembley Stadium tomorrow. (Above) Arsenal celebrate after beating Hull City 3-2 after extra time to lift the trophy last year. Appearing in their record 19th FA Cup Final on Saturday, they are hoping to lift the trophy for a record 12th time
The winners will get the chance to see Arsenal v Aston Villa in Saturday's crunch match at Wembley
The tickets will be carried on helium-filled balloon, similar to this one, and fly approximately 100 miles
The lucky winners will not only get to see Arsenal's record-breaking FA Cup Final appearance against Aston Villa, but they will also get pitch-side before the game and have their photograph taken with the trophy.
The FA will tweet progress reports from 6am when the balloon is launched and for the duration of its flight.
It is expected that the balloon will face winds of up to 100mph and temperatures of -50C as it travels across London.
The FA has received special permission from the Civil Aviation Authority for the 6am launch.
The balloon and the special cargo will be tracked using GPS signals which will be relayed to anxious fans tomorrow over Twitter.
Lucy Roberts-Hartley, Marketing Manager for The FA Cup, said:
'This season’s competition has truly been one to remember - on and off the pitch. The Cup has travelled to the South Pole and on the pitch we’ve seen some of the most memorable matches in FA Cup history.
'Sending the final pair of tickets into space is a great way to finish the off-pitch adventure. We hope the fan that discovers the tickets also enjoys an out-of-this-world match on Saturday.'
The tickets will reach 36km in height before the balloon explodes and sends the package back to earth
Alex Baker of Sentintospace.com said he expected the balloon will travel approximately 100 miles before the tickets fall to earth.
He said the early morning launch was necessary to avoid interfering with busy flight lanes.
'Tomorrow we are using helium to fill the balloon. Sometimes we can use hydrogen. Hydrogen is a better gas as it produces more lift for the same volume, but it has its own problems.
'After launch, the balloon will go up to approximately 36km. As it ascends the air pressure outside drops and balloon expands. At launch, it is approximately two metres in diameter. At 36km it will have expanded to around 10 metres where it will explode.
'The package with the ticket will plummet at almost 200 metres per second at that altitude, but once the air pressure increases, the speed will decrease and the parachute will deploy.
'We expect it to be back on the ground between 8.30am and 9am.'
The official match programme for this year's FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Wembley. Arsenal, making a record 19th appearance in the final, are hoping to win the trophy for the second season on the trot and for a record 12th time, whereas Villa are hoping to win the trophy for the first time since 1957 and for an eighth time
Read more: Free FA Cup final tickets will be blasted to edge of space and fall to earth | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Last edited:
