Celestis, Inc. is a company that launches cremated human remains into space, a procedure known as a space burial. It is a subsidiary of the private space company Space Services Inc. The company purchases launches as a secondary payload on various launch vehicles, and launches samples of a person's cremated remains. Launching an individual's entire cremated remains (which weigh between four and eight pounds) would be prohibitively expensive for most people, so Celestis launches small portions of 1-7 grams.
History Celestis has flown a number of notable participants over the years. Its first flight – The Founders Flight — carried cremated remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and 1960s icon Timothy Leary into Earth orbit. Also on board were remains of physicist and space visionary Gerard K. O'Neill, noted rocket scientist Krafft A. Ehricke, and 20 others. Dr. Eugene Shoemaker — a famous planetary geologist and co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 – was launched to the Moon on NASA's Lunar Prospector mission in 1998: Celestis helped friends of Dr. Shoemaker include a sample of his cremated remains on that mission. Mercury 7 astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Star Trek actor James Doohan ("Mr. Scott"), and a host of others from various walks of life were launched on board The Legacy Flight in 2007. Titanic explorer Ralph White was on board the Discovery and Pioneer flights.
Family members and friends of flight participants usually can attend the launch. Celestis usually arranges for a tour of the launch facility and hosts a non-sectarian memorial service prior to the launch. Celestis also helps people prearrange their own memorial spaceflights for the future.
Flights Launch date / time (UTC)Launch vehicleFlight nameOrbitNotable IndividualsRemarks 21 April 1997, 11:59 Pegasus-XL Founders Earth orbit Beauford Franklin, rocket scientistGene Roddenberry, Star Trek creatorGerard O'Neill, physicistKrafft Ehricke, rocket scientistTimothy Leary, psychologist, writer Reached Earth orbit; Reentered atmosphere 20 May 2002 7 January 1998, 02:29 Athena Luna-01 Lunar orbit Eugene Merle Shoemaker, astronomer Attached to Lunar ProspectorLanded 31 July 1999 10 December 1998, 13:20 Taurus Ad Astra Earth orbit Reached Earth orbit; still on orbit 21 December 1999, 07:13 Taurus Millennial Earth orbit Charles Oren Bennett, illustrator Reached Earth orbit; still on orbit 21 September 2001, 18:49 Taurus Odyssey Earth orbit Failed to orbit 28 April 2007, 14:56 SpaceLoft XL Legacy Earthrise (suborbital) Gordon Cooper, astronautJames Doohan, Star Trek actor Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 3 August 2008, 03:34 Falcon 1 Explorers Earth orbit Gordon Cooper, astronautJames Doohan, Star Trek actor Failed to orbit 2 May 2009, 14:00 SpaceLoft XL Discovery Earthrise (suborbital) Ralph White, explorer Failed to reach space 4 May 2010, 12:41 SpaceLoft XL Pioneer Earthrise (suborbital) Ralph White, explorer Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 20 May 2011, 13:21 SpaceLoft XL Goddard Earthrise (suborbital) Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 22 May 2012, 07:44 Falcon 9 New Frontier Earth orbit Gordon Cooper, astronautJames Doohan, Star Trek actor Reached orbit, on a canister attached to the Falcon 9 launch vehicle's second stage. Reentered Earth's atmosphere on 27 June 2012. It carried the ashes of 308 people, 1-gram per person. 21 June 2013, 11:57 SpaceLoft XL Centennial Earthrise (suborbital) Candy Johnson, entertainer Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 23 October 2014, 13:33 SpaceLoft XL Conestoga Earthrise (suborbital) CJ Twomey Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 6 November 2015, 15:01 SpaceLoft XL Tribute Earthrise (suborbital) Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 17 September 2018, 14:09 SpaceLoft XL Starseeker Earthrise (suborbital) Reached space and returned to Earth, as planned 25 June 2019, 06:30 Falcon Heavy Heritage Earth orbit William Reid Pogue, astronaut , baseball playerMasaru Tomita (富田 勝) - Celestis Reached orbit successfully 24 January 2023, 15:00 Falcon 9 Horizon Earth orbit Reached orbit successfully 25 May 2022, 18:35 Falcon 9 Ascension Earth orbit Reached orbit successfully 15 April 2023, 06:48 Falcon 9 Excelsior Earth orbit Dave Barrett, journalist Reached orbit successfully 1 May 2023, 16:45 SpaceLoft-XL Aurora Earthrise (suborbital) Philip K. Chapman, astronaut Launch vehicle failureAll the capsules containing the ashes were successfully recovered, and they are scheduled to be launched again in 2024 on the “Perseverance Flight”.宇宙葬・スペースメモリアル（Space Memorial） | 日本で最多成功実績8 January 2024, 07:18Vulcan CentaurTranquilityLunar landing Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek creatorMajel Barrett, Star Trek actressMareta West, first female AstrogeologistArthur C. Clarke, Science Fiction WriterReached orbit successfully, failure of Peregrine Mission One shortly after orbit led to abandonment of Lunar landing. Returned to Earth.8 January 2024, 07:18Vulcan CentaurEnterpriseHeliocentric Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek creatorMajel Barrett, Star Trek actressJames Doohan, Star Trek actorDeForest Kelley, Star Trek actorNichelle Nichols, Star Trek actressDouglas Trumbull, Star Trek actorGeorge Washington, US presidentJohn F. Kennedy, US presidentDwight D. Eisenhower, US presidentRonald Reagan, US presidentReached orbit successfully16 August 2024, 18:56Falcon 9HarmonyEarth orbit Philip K. Chapman, astronautMichael Lampton, astronautReached orbit successfully
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