FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Team lofts skateboard to space in “awesome” VR film
The “Space Skateboard” is offered on Kickstarter
Los Angeles, California, July 5, 2016 — 121C has announced that it launched a carbon fiber skateboard to the edge of space above the Mojave Desert earlier this year. The event can be experienced in Virtual Reality (VR) narrated by NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría at https://youtu.be/5NSbVwTVU20. (VRs are best viewed from a mobile device.)
“The space jump of ‘Fearless’ Felix Baumgartner got us thinking about riding a skateboard down from space and that was the inspiration for this VR film.” said Ryan Olliges, President of 121C and a 2016 graduate in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California. Ryan continues, “It seems like a crazy stunt at first, but this was the perfect way to call attention to our ultralight carbon fiber decks.”
“The launch is even more appropriate since we build them from scrap material generated in the production of modern spacecraft.” adds Greg Autry, cofounder of 121C and an Assistant Clinical Professor with the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California. Dr. Autry adds, “Watching this VR while listening to Mike LA narrate his experience on a Soyuz flight to the Space Station is really pretty thrilling. Engineers love this stuff and we also hope to inspire a new positive and forward looking attitude in skate that appeals to mature, upscale skaters.”
The board and camera rig were launched using a helium weather balloon and safely descended via parachute. After reaching an estimated altitude of 90,000 ft a GPS tracking system with a satellite uplink helped to locate and recover the payload. The launch and recovery are described in detail in a 121C blog post at: http://sf121c.wpengine.com/blog.
The actual space skateboard, equipped with Shark Wheels and Randal trucks, can be acquired with a $2,500 pledge to the firm’s successful Kickstarter campaign which launched on June 16 and was fully funded by the next day. The campaign ends on July 30. Olliges remarks, “I’d kind of like to keep it, but people like having the ‘first’ of just about anything. We think somebody will look at the amazing photos and VR and really want this odd bit of history.”
About 121C
121C designs, manufactures and occasionally launches the world’s most advanced skateboards. The company was founded in 2015 as the first phase in a major effort to upcycle scrap carbon fiber generated by the aerospace industry. For more information, visit www.121cboards.com
Press Inquiries: greg.autry@121cboards.com
