Eyes On The Skies

Jane Poynter Wants to Take You Higher in a Very Big Balloon —and Give Science a Lift Too

- Laura Parker

NOTHING DRAWS ATTENTION TO YOUR NEW PRODUCT LIKE USING it to send fast food into space. In June, Arizona-based World View demonstrated the potential of its pioneering stratollite—a sort of mini satellite that uses a high-altitude balloon to take payloads into the stratosphere—by partnering with KFC to ferry a 5-ounce piece of fried fowl 77,000 feet into the desert sky. “We took a frail chicken sandwich, launched it into space for 17 hours, and when it came back, it was perfect,” says World View CEO Jane Poynter.