Latest news with #spaceburial
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Space capsule carrying ashes of 166 people meets bizarre end
A space capsule carrying the ashes of 166 people met an anticlimactic fate when it plunged into the Pacific Ocean. The Nyx capsule, launched on June 23 as part of an initiative called 'Mission Possible' by the German start-up The Exploration Company (TEC), was designed to send its passengers on a final journey into space. The capsule was intended to carry the ashes safely back to earth after the flights, fulfilling their dying wishes to finally become astronauts. But after the capsule completed two orbits around Earth 'an anomaly occurred' and the vessel was lost during its planned re-entry into the atmosphere, according to Celestis co-founder and CEO Charles M. Chafer. The mission was carried out in partnership with Celestis, a Texas-based company specializing in space burials. According to TEC, the spacecraft's launch was successful, the payload was powered as expected in orbit, and the spacecraft even re-established communication after a brief blackout during re-entry. However, moments before the capsule was scheduled to splash down and return safely to Earth, the mission hit a wall. TEC revealed that they 'lost communication' with the capsule a few minutes before its scheduled splashdown. 'We apologize to all our clients who entrusted us with their payloads,' the company, which had celebrated the capsule's previous milestones, said in a statement. TEC said that the payload - along with the remains of the deceased and several other experimental items - was lost in the Pacific Ocean. In addition to human remains, the Nyx capsule carried cannabis plant matter and seeds for a citizen science project called Martian Grow. The initiative aims to study the viability of growing cannabis on Mars, hoping to push the boundaries of space agriculture, according to Popular Mechanics. Despite the loss, Celestis offered consolation to the families of those whose loved ones were aboard the mission. 'Though we currently believe that we cannot return the flight capsules, we hope families will find some peace in knowing their loved ones were part of a historic journey, launched into space, orbited Earth, and are now resting in the vastness of the Pacific, akin to a traditional and honored sea scattering,' Chafer wrote. 'While there were many successful milestones achieved - launch, orbit, and controlled reentry - this was the first Celestis mission designed to return from orbit, and we recognize the bravery and ambition it required from all involved,' the Celestis CEO wrote. 'We also recognize that no technical achievement replaces the profound personal meaning this service holds for our families.' TEC, which had only launched one previous capsule before Nyx, acknowledged that while the mission wasn't the complete success they had hoped for, it still represented progress. TEC, which had only launched one previous capsule before Nyx, acknowledged that while the mission wasn't the complete success they had hoped for. Pictured: Celestis' customized, aerospace-grade aluminum flight capsule has been successfully integrated into the container that will be placed aboard the Nyx spacecraft for the upcoming flight Hélène Huby, Founder and CEO of TEC, expressed a mixture of gratitude and regret, saying, 'We are continuing our journey, eager to implement these learnings in our next vehicle. 'We will learn from Mission Possible and improve, together as a team. I express my profound gratitude to The Exploration Company's team members who are demonstrating outstanding solidarity, resilience, and commitment to the success of our mission.' Celestis has been in contact with the families to offer support. 'We remain committed to serving with transparency, compassion, and care,' Chafer concluded.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Families Get Unpleasant Surprise After Trying to Shoot Their Loved Ones' Ashes Into Space
Hundreds of families shelled out to pay an out-of-this-world tribute to their lost loved ones — but tragically, their mortal remains ended up floating in the Pacific thanks to an error with the capsule they were riding in. As the Chicago Sun-Times reports, a capsule containing the ashes and DNA of some 166 departed souls was slated to orbit Earth for three hours this week before being splashing down safely into the Pacific Ocean and being returned to the families of the deceased loved ones. After orbiting Earth twice, the capsule operated by the so-called "space burial" company Celestis re-entered Earth's atmosphere normally, but failed to launch the parachutes that would have given it a softer landing in the ocean. As a result, the capsule impacted the water and, as Celestis CEO Charles Chafer noted in a statement to the Sun-Times, "[dispersed] its contents at sea." "As a result of this unforeseen event, we believe that we will not be able to recover or return the flight capsules aboard," Chafer continued. "We share in the disappointment of our families, and we offer our sincerest gratitude for their trust." One such family member, the son of the late Curtis Lau, had been very exhilarated by the prospect of sending his dad's ashes into space with Celestis, which has conducted similar memorial spaceflights for nearly 30 years. "It's obviously a unique thing we are able to do," 28-year-old Griffin Lau told the Sun-Times ahead of the launch earlier this week. "This was a wish for my father, so I also appreciate the ability to share his story and memorialize him." The elder Lau had been, as his son explained, a lifelong space enthusiast who would travel from his home in Wisconsin down to Cape Canaveral, Florida to watch rocket launches at the Kennedy Space Center. After he passed away last summer, his family decided to shell out nearly $3,500 to give his ashes a posthumous joyride in low-Earth orbit. In the aftermath of the "anomaly" that caused his dad's ashes to meet a watery grave, however, the son was less stoked. "It's a bummer," Lau said, "but admittedly, they take only a small part of the remains." More on space mishaps: Nobel Prize Winner Warns About Astronomers Using AI to Make Discoveries
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
SpaceX's Transporter 14 launch will carry more than 150 capsules of DNA, human remains
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Celestis has been a pioneering force in space-burial services since 1994. The Houston-based company has sent the DNA and other remains of loved ones, pets and celebrities into outer space on a series of missions using a variety of rockets, including United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur. Such vehicles have carried the cremated remains and/or DNA samples of a number of "Star Trek" legends, including Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley, Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry and James "Scotty" Doohan. Celestis has also helped fly "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" visual effects legend Douglas Trumbull and the symbolic remains of four former U.S. presidents: George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, aboard last year's deep-space "Enterprise Flight." Now, Celestis has announced that it has entered into a new launch services collaboration with European spacecraft manufacturer The Exploration Company (TEC). TEC will host a special Celestis Memorial Spaceflight payload on its upcoming "Mission Possible" flight, which is slated to blast off atop a Falcon 9 rocket on SpaceX's Transporter 14 rideshare mission on Monday (June 23) at 5:18 p.m. EDT (2118 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Perseverance Flight will carry over 150 flight capsules containing cremated remains and DNA samples from customers around the globe. It will be TEC's second demonstrator prior to the inaugural mission of its Nyx Earth orbital launch vehicle, which is scheduled to lift off and dock with the International Space Station sometime in 2028. Mission Possible will mark the first time that a TEC spacecraft hauls customer payloads to orbit. According to Celestis, Perseverance will reach low Earth orbit and complete two or three circuits of our planet before reentering the atmosphere. The memorial capsules will then splash down in the Pacific Ocean, to be recovered and returned to clients as cherished keepsakes. This will be Celestis' 12th such "Earth Rise" flight, and its 25th space mission overall. "Celestis is pleased to offer a new type of Earth Rise mission, thanks to The Exploration Company," Charles Chafer, the company's co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. "Our participants' capsules will orbit the Earth and return via the Mission Possible capsule, creating a spectacular liftoff and recovery experience." Celestis will also be creating history, making three-year-old Matteo Barth the youngest German (and youngest European overall) to send his DNA into space. Inside TEC's Mission Possible capsule, the child will symbolically join Dieter Barth, his late grandfather, when they're launched, in honor of the older man's lifelong interest in space and exploration. Editor's note: This article was updated on June 22 at 5:10 p.m. EDT to note the change of launch dates to Monday, June 23, 2025.
