The Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX quietly launched two official soccer balls for the 2022 World Cup into space before the tournament began.
According to the Daily Mail, Qatar Airways collaborated with SpaceX and Elon Musk’s Starlink to send two FIFA balls into the atmosphere, where they reached an altitude of 123 km above Earth and traveled at speeds of up to 8,272 km/h.
The official ball used in the 2022 World Cup. (Photo: Reuters)
These balls traveled a long journey from Los Angeles to Doha, then were transported to Florida for the launch.
They were present on the Falcon 9 rocket during the first leg of a nearly 1,300 km journey before being returned to Earth by SpaceX’s uncrewed ship, landing a few hundred kilometers off the Atlantic coastline. Subsequently, they were transported by Qatar Airways to Hamad International Airport, where they were handed over to World Cup officials.
Qatar Airways stated: “This is a legendary journey for a legendary tournament, from space to the opening ceremony.”
Adidas utilized sustainable glue and ink to produce these balls. It is named “Al Rihla,” which means “the journey” or “the voyage” in Arabic.
However, this is not the first time soccer has been sent into space.
In 2018, Russian astronauts took an Adidas Telstar 18 ball to the International Space Station (ISS) before returning it to Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. It traveled 50 million km in 74 days in space.
The following year, Adidas sent several balls aboard a Dragon spacecraft contracted by NASA for research at the ISS National Laboratory.
