A musical mash-up of the late American astronomer Carl Sagan explaining the cosmos has become the first ever vinyl record played in space.

Carried by a high-altitude balloon, the phonographic record of A Glorious Dawn by composer John Boswell was played 28,000 metres above Earth on a turntable specially engineered to withstand the harsh conditions in near space.

It played for about 80 minutes on repeat, before the balloon burst and sent the turntable rocketing back towards ground in Marsing, Idaho.

Third Man Records, the record label founded by former White Stripes frontman Jack White, was behind the mission.

In a statement, White said it was an “exhilarating” achievement.

“It brings us great fulfilment to pay tribute to the incredible scientist and dreamer that Carl Sagan was,” he said.

“We hope that in meeting our goal we inspire others to dream big and start their own missions, whatever they may be.”

The Icarus Craft was designed and engineered by electronics consultant Kevin Carrico, whose father John worked on NASA’s Mars-Viking missions.

It took over three years to perfect, with both the record and turntable requiring extensive “space proofing”.

“As you rise higher and higher into the thinning atmosphere, temperature and increasing vacuum (lack of air) can cause issues,” Mr Carrico explained in a statement.

https://twitter.com/thirdmanrecords/status/759448047847895040

“Vinyl has a rather low melting point (71 degrees Celsius), and without air to keep things cool, you could wind up with a lump of melted plastic on your hands if a record is exposed to the sun for too long.

“Without air, things in direct sunlight can get very hot while things in shade can get very cold.

“This constant expansion and contraction can physically distort a vinyl record rendering it unplayable.”

To withstand those conditions, the turntable had to be designed to keep the vinyl cool, while the record had to be plated in gold to help keep the grooves from losing their shape.