( CNN ) -- Google 's new Nexus S smartphone has launched . Literally . To celebrate the release of the Nexus S , Google employees constructed seven hobbyist-style air balloons , each containing a phone , and sent them into orbit . In a company blog post chronicling the nerdy stunt , Google 's Zi Wang wrote that the project was intended to help test some of the hardware sensors in the phone . But that could just be a front to convince their bosses they were n't goofing off . Or it could be related to a project Wang mentioned in an interview with New Scientist last week . Google is in talks with a UK satellite manufacturer about contributing the core technology in the Nexus S to help build small satellites , according to that report . `` The phone is powerful enough , '' Wang told the science publication . Google says it recovered all seven capsules from the test run . At least one of those reached higher than 100,000 feet ( more than 20 miles ) . The phones stopped functioning at 60,000 feet -- about twice as high as most planes fly . Not bad for being in space without a helmet . Google says the phones started working again on descent . The company posted several videos about the project on YouTube .
Google sent seven air balloons with Android phones into orbit . The company has been working on the project for several years and is now ready to launch a small number of devices in low Earth orbit. Google has posted several videos to YouTube chronicling the project .