If someone told you that English Lakes Hotels had lost its lucky mascot in space, you might just do a double take and ask them to repeat what they just said.
But 10 years ago this month, that’s what happened to Sam the Dog, the trusty cuddly toy mascot of the hotel group named after the Berry family’s original bearded collie.
As well as being the top dog in driving our Sam’s Club community initiative which supports local charities and good causes, Sam also has a bit of ‘previous’ as a canine cosmonaut.
Sam was launched into space in April 2016 via a helium balloon with GPS tracking equipment and cameras.
The space launch at the southernmost edge of the Lake District was part of an educational science project for the children of Morecambe Bay Community Primary School. Run in partnership with SentIntoSpace.com, the mission’s aim was to teach children about gravity, space travel and scientific discovery.
Little did we know that Sam had embarked on a never-to-be-forgotten adventure which would attract the attention of national media and international news outlets across the globe.
All went well on Sam’s initial ascent into space, with a helium balloon taking the fluffy mascot to a height of just over 15.5 miles (25km) and his camera offering spectacular views of the curvature of the earth and the outer depths of space.
Plans went awry on Sam’s return descent and ‘re-entry’ from his trip to the edge of space. While the camera, live telemetry systems and GPS equipment were recovered from a field near Burnley, 48 miles away across Lancashire, Sam had been separated from the rig and was missing in action.
Flight data and weather conditions suggested that Sam was likely to have made landfall within a 40-50 mile radius of the equipment.
An SOS call went out to locate him and the hashtag #FindSam became a trending search on social media, with the hotel group offering a free stay as a reward for the toy's discovery and safe return.
Sam’s space mission and disappearance caused quite a stir in national and international media as the story went global. As well as making headlines in the Daily Telegraph, Metro, The Independent and The Guardian, Sky News Australia, CNN in America and New Zealand TV also covered the mission and the appeal to get Sam back.
The local Burnley Express splashed with ‘Astro-dog lost in space’, whilst CNN mentioned a mocked up missing pet poster with ‘Have you seen this dog Sam, last seen flying across Lancashire,’ with the photo of Sam ‘taking’ a selfie against a spectacular backdrop view of the blue planet.
According to calculations from SentIntoSpace.com at the time, Sam could have landed in North Lancashire or as far afield as York, Sheffield or the Peak District.
The camera footage indicated that one of the helium balloon tethers got tangled with the mascot when it burst at its peak altitude and the freefall part of the flight commenced.
“We do not have any data on the aerodynamics of a toy dog or its terminal velocity,” they said. “But we’re pretty sure Sam landed within a 40-50 mile radius of Burnley.”
The YouTube video of Sam’s mission has been viewed 1.7 million times.
The story has a happier ending for the children of Morecambe Bay Community Primary School, as they got a second chance to send the mascot into space.
In September the following year, Sam was strapped into a Skybolt 2 research rocket and blasted off from a testing site at Otterburn, Northumberland.
The rocket flight by Manchester-based Starchaser Industries, sponsored by the University of Chester, was to test onboard electronics and recovery systems.
This time Sam parachuted safely back down to earth and was tracked and recovered with rocket equipment.
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