Did the Olympic torch get sent to space?

(Editor's Note: The Olympic torch spacewalk has ended. See a video of the historic event here: 'Olympic Torch' Taken Out On Spacewalk ). read more

The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The flame then continues to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it is extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony. read more

Olympic torch could still be sent to space Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports Published 12:43 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2013 Russian ice dancer Ilia Averbukh presents the Olympic torch and uniform for the relay of the Olympic and Paralympic flame for 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, in Moscow, Russia, on Monday. read more

A special torch also went up into space, with the shuttle Atlantis conveying it all the way to the International Space Station. ioc When it finally reached Australia, 11,000 torch-bearers took it on a tour of the entire country. read more