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Stuffed dog missing after space flight

<p>A U.K. elementary school <a href="https://www.facebook.com/themidlandmorecambe/videos/vb.152957388059048/1132767586744685/?type=2&theater" target="_blank">sent a stuffed toy soaring into the clouds</a> — in the name of science, of course. </p><p><br/></p><p>TOS: A U.K. elementary school sent a stuffed toy into the clouds. </p><p>Meet Sam the Dog. He's the subject of a physics project to see just how high he could float with a helium balloon. </p><p><br/></p><p>TOS: Meet Sam the Dog, the subject of a physics project to see how high he could float with a helium balloon. </p><p>The school partnered with a local hotel and SentIntoSpace.com — getting Sam's voyage on film with a GoPro. </p><p><br/></p><p>TOS: The school partnered with a local hotel and SentIntoSpace.com — filming the voyage with a GoPro. </p><p>A GPS tracker inside Sam showed he blasted into the sky at a rate of 19.7 feet per second, reaching a height of 15.5 miles, or almost 82,000 feet. </p><p><br/></p><p>TOS: A GPS tracker showed Sam traveled at 19.7 feet per second and reached a height of 15.5 miles. </p><p>But the balloon popped during his flight, and now Sam is missing, even though the GPS equipment was located. </p><p><br/></p><p>TOS: But the balloon popped, and now Sam is missing. </p><p>The hotel the school partnered with is offering a free stay to the person who finds the stuffed toy. </p><p><br/></p><p>TOS: The hotel is offering a free stay to the person who finds the stuffed toy. </p><p><i>This video includes clips from </i><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZmzqxBkQAY" target="_blank">Sent Into Space</a></i><i> and </i><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDX80cj6p2Q" target="_blank">English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues</a></i><i>. </i></p>
Posted at 2:24 PM, Apr 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-08 14:31:26-04

LONDON (AP) — Sam the Dog has gone where no stuffed animal has gone before — into the stratosphere and the English unknown.

Teachers and pupils at an elementary school in Morecambe in northwest England strapped the white fluffy school mascot to a high-altitude helium balloon and launched him from a hotel roof Tuesday. They recorded his rapid ascent some 15 miles (24 kilometers) into the atmosphere, much higher than planned, and captured the trip with an on-board video camera.

After the balloon burst, Sam disappeared. The school hoped to retrieve him, but he was missing from the site where the balloon's camera and GPS system landed some 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the east.

They have launched a social media-driven hunt for Sam in hopes that someone in northern England will find him.

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