Skip to main content

Samsung selfie stunt goes wrong as space contraption crashes to Earth

Space Selfie - The Making of

Samsung might want to file this away in the one marked, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Recommended Videos

The tech company recently had the odd idea of sending a high-altitude balloon into space carrying a Galaxy S10 smartphone showing a selfie of model and actress Cara Delevingne.

Samsung said its “SpaceSelfie” mission was designed “to give everyone the chance to get their face in space.” Because that really is on your to-do list, right?

But just a few days after the satellite-like contraption headed skyward, the whole darn thing came crashing back to Earth, landing on the property of Michigan resident Nancy Mumby-Welke.

Nancy and her husband knew something was up (or rather, down) when they heard a loud crash outside their house in Gratiot County on Saturday.

Nancy told NBC News that when she saw the crumpled mess outside she immediately realized it had fallen from the sky. On closer inspection, she could see a Samsung nameplate on it, as well as one for Raven Industries, a company in South Dakota that makes high-altitude balloons.

Samsung later confirmed to NBC that the rig had come down five days earlier than planned and had experienced a “soft landing in a selected rural area.”

The tech company was keen to point out that “no injuries occurred” in the incident, adding: “We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.” An official from one of the companies later collected the wreckage.

Samsung

Samsung’s SpaceSelfie mission involved sending a selfie taken by Delevingne into space, and then beaming back to Earth an image of the selfie displayed on a Galaxy S10 (above). Samsung described it as the first-ever selfie sent to space and invited folks to upload their own pictures to Samsung’s Mission Control website so they, too, could see themselves on the screen of a Galaxy S10 drifting in space. Well, that was the idea.

While conspiracy theorists may believe Samsung deliberately brought the balloon down in dramatic circumstances in order to score more publicity for its already-bizarre marketing stunt, the more likely explanation is that the contraption simply suffered some kind of major malfunction way up high.

Samsung has an oft-touted slogan that goes: “Do what you can’t.” In this case, it appears to have done just that.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Samsung’s mid-range tablet is getting an iPad Pro-rivaling spec
A Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE on a wet deck.

Samsung's upcoming mid-range Android tablets, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE and FE Plus, likely won't launch until mid-2025. But months before their launch, speculations and leaks about the tablets are started to seep through. A fresh leak hints at the sizes of the two tablets, hinting the larger one out of the two could compete with tablets far above its rank, including the iPad Pro.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE will retain a 10.9-inch display, as it with its predecessor, trusted leaker Roland Quandt shared in a post on Bluesky, an alternative to Elon Musk-owned X. Meanwhile, the bigger and the more powerful Tab S10 FE Plus will get its display bumped up to 13.1 inches, bringing it on par with options such as the iPad Air (M2) and iPad Pro, both of which have at least one variant with a 13-inch display.

Read more
Does the Samsung Galaxy S25 come with a charger in the box?
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S25.

Samsung's latest flagships have landed! The Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra look virtually identical to last year's Galaxy S24 range, but offer an array of small-yet-mighty under-the-hood improvements to ensure they're well worth the asking price.

The S25 and S25 Plus boast a 4,000mAh battery and 4,900mAh battery, respectively, while the S25 Ultra is powered by a beefy 5,000mAh battery.

Read more
Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. 4 reasons to wait for the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S25 series closeup

Samsung’s latest Unpacked event has wrapped up, and with it, we’ve been introduced to the Galaxy S25 series. As expected, the lineup includes the standard Galaxy S25, the middle-tier S25 Plus, and the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra. Packed with impressive hardware like the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, AI-driven features, and camera enhancements, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is undoubtedly a powerful device.
But is it worth upgrading to right now? Depending on your current phone, you might find these updates more incremental than groundbreaking. There are compelling reasons to consider holding off until next year’s Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Let’s break down why waiting might be the smarter move.

A massive 200MP periscope telephoto camera

Read more