Launch ashes - Space burial - Space funeral - Cremation memorials
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Frequently Asked Questions

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Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. When is the next launch?

The next Celestis memorial spaceflight is an Earth Orbit Service flight. Launch is projected to occur from Florida in the third quarter of 2009.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. Are friends and family permitted to view the launch? Yes. Celestis will host family members and friends at a special facility we create for launch viewing. An on-site memorial service will be conducted in advance of the viewing opportunity where friends and families can meet other attendees and share their experiences.

Celestis provides these services as part of the Memorial Spaceflight service package. Travel, lodging, and all incidental costs are borne by the attendees. Celestis provides these services on a “best efforts” basis, as launch schedules and launch site security status are beyond our control. We work closely with all attendees to keep them fully informed of the launch status.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. What if I am unable to attend the launch: Is there a video record available? Yes. We are often able to provide a live, global Web cast of the launch, and in all cases we produce a video of the launch and related memorial service. A copy of the video is included in the Memorial Spaceflight service package. Additional copies are available at a nominal fee.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. Can I track the Celestis Earth Orbiting spacecraft? Yes. Click here to view the orbital location of any of the Celestis memorial spacecraft in real time.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. How are the cremated remains actually launched? The remains are placed in a specially designed, individual flight module or capsule which contains either seven grams or one gram of cremated remains, depending upon the service you selected. They are then integrated into the Celestis spacecraft, which is attached to the rocket and launched into space.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. Why launch only a symbolic portion?

We offer the launch of a symbolic portion of the cremated remains as a memorial service, not final disposition of all the remains, because although dramatic progress is being made by entrepreneurs in reducing launch costs, spaceflight is still quite expensive. By launching a portion we can offer an affordable service, and also can provide performance assurance.

We will arrange for final disposition of the balance of the cremated remains through a sea scattering service, should you so desire.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. How long will the cremated remains stay in Earth orbit? The length of orbital stay depends on the final altitude of the primary satellite launched on the mission (a memorial spacecraft is a “secondary payload” aboard each mission). For example, the orbital life span for our Celestis satellites ranged from two years to several hundred years. The anticipated orbital lifetime for each mission is posted on the dedicated flight Web page, after its launch.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. Does the service create orbital debris pollution?

Celestis spacecraft are carefully designed so as not to create orbital debris. Each spacecraft stays permanently attached to a rocket stage that orbits Earth until the spacecraft harmlessly re-enters and is completely consumed by Earth’s atmosphere — blazing like a shooting star in final tribute to the passengers aboard.

For missions that are launched aboard a commercially purchased launcher, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration issues a license which verifies that the Celestis payload does not contribute to orbital debris. For missions not subject to FAA approval, Celestis voluntarily follows the same guidelines which prevent orbital pollution from its missions.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. Space launches are challenging. What if the orbit is not achieved? In the event that the Celestis Earth Orbit Service spacecraft does not achieve orbit, we will — at no additional cost — place a second sample of the cremated remains aboard our next scheduled mission.
Space Services Memorial Spaceflights launch a symbolic portion of your loved one's cremated remains on a space mission that orbits the Earth: A ‘space funeral.’ Memorial Spaceflights are a fitting tribute for explorers, pioneers, entrepreneurs, aerospace professionals, and all who have an interest in space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy, or who simply feel at home in the cosmos. I want to be certain that my
wishes are carried out. Can I plan my service in advance?		 Yes, you may select our Advance Planning Programs which offer you the opportunity to make an advance reservation for the Celestis Memorial Spaceflight service.
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