MINNEAPOLIS — Like it or not, the new Minnesota flag is out of this world — literally.
A mechanical engineering team from the University of Minnesota sent the new state flag into space for the first time, flying between a U.S. flag and school flag.
"A historic moment," university officials posted on social media Thursday.
Dr. Ognjen Ilic, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the U of M's College of Science & Engineering, led the team that sent the flags into space, saying they accompanied a research payload carrying nanofabricated materials to study their behavior outside the Earth's atmosphere.
"We are interested in material resistance to increased radiation, interaction with cosmic rays, etc., and our payload carries a suite of instruments (cameras, thermometers, GPS, and altitude and pressure sensors) that are controlled by an onboard computer," Dr. Ilic said in a statement. "We thought it would be great to fly the new Minnesota state flag to space for the first time."
Dr. Ilic's team included three mechanical engineering students — Daniel Kindem, Sam Keller and Karl Pederson — and Dr. James Flaten, an aerospace engineering professor. The launch took place on Wednesday, July 17 from Montgomery, Minnesota. The payload was retrieved later in the day, according to Dr. Ilic.
State officials unveiled Minnesota's new state flag after a months of sifting through designs submitted by residents. The new flag was adopted after several communities criticized the old design, which featured a Native American riding off into the sunset while a white settler plows his field with a rifle nearby. There were also cosmetic concerns, including it being difficult to read.