FIFA World Cup footballs were sent to space and back by Qatar Airways and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink.

Two World Cup balls were sent to space and back aboard the Falcon 9 rocket by Qatar Airways and Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink teams.

“From space to the football pitch. We brought the official football for FIFA World Cup Qatar, becoming part of this historical out of the world journey together with SpaceX and FIFA,” Qatar Airways said.

The balls travelled more than 1,300 km (808 miles), achieved top speeds of 8,272 km/h (5,139 mph), and peaked at an altitude of 123 km (76 miles).

The balls originally travelled to Los Angeles, California, from Doha. They were then transported to Cape Canaveral, Florida for the launch from Los Angeles. The balls then travelled to space and back, after which the Starlink crew sent them back to Qatar.

In earlier collaborations with the Gulf country, Starlink Satellite signed an agreement with Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority in late September to provide internet services in Qatar.

The new collaboration aims to develop Qatar’s Information and Communications Technology sector, as well as to encourage more foreign investment in the country.

This license grants Starlink Satellite Qatar the right to provide satellite broadband internet services to individuals and businesses via SpaceX’s Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, which provides comprehensive global Internet service coverage.

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has now rolled out to 32 countries, the company announced in May this year.