A chicken burger, which was sent into space by U.S. fast food company KFC through a collaboration with World View's space company, has returned to Earth.

KFC announced in April that it aimed to send one of its chicken burgers into space to celebrate the 'launch' of a new sandwich at the restaurant chain. The 'Zinger' was sent to the cosmos with the balloon "Stratollite" on June 29 and landed back on Earth ahead of schedule yesterday evening.

World View said the Stratollite balloon, which is designed to float about 100,000 feet in the air, had to make an early landing due to a small leak in its elevation guidance system. The mission also served as a test for vehicle's height control and steering capabilities.

"Our special payload passenger, KFC's Zinger Spicy Chicken Sandwich, performed flawlessly and experienced incredible views from the edge of space," World View's CEO Jane Poynter said.

Although the Zinger's space travel did not last as long as originally intended, the company announced plans to launch other missions in the near future.