Onyx Spirits Company, a New England craft distillery based in East Hartford, Conn., will launch a full sized bottle of their signature spirit, Onyx Moonshine, into space from Connecticut on May 2, 2015. The announcement today commemorates Earth Day and Onyx Spirits Company’s commitment to sustainable business practices.

A team of scientists spent two years constructing “Onyx 1”, a custom-built, weather balloon-powered space apparatus that will carry a 750 mL bottle of Onyx Moonshine and accompanying rocks glass, mounted on a silver platter 22 miles up into space. The platform is fitted with GoPro cameras, GPS, radar deflector, deployable parachute and a protective foam casing to safeguard the bottle upon landing in the Long Island Sound.  The company said “all safety measures have been considered and the FAA will be notified” prior to the launch.

“Onyx Moonshine is all about attempting things that haven’t been done before, which is the true essence of the American spirit,” said Onyx Spirits Company co-founder Adam von Gootkin. “It’s amazing to think that 150 years ago our ancestors were arrested for illegally selling moonshine and here we are, legally sending a bottle into space. This is just one small adventure of many more to come,” he added. Follow the launch on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube