Space Cremains
Yes you read correct, NASA has just launched
another successful shuttle into space, why not send
your ashes up there too.
Do you remember Star Trek and the actor James
Doohan who played Scotty, come on, he’s the one at the
controls when those immortal words are spoken, “Beam me
up Scotty”. He choose to be up there and so can you.
Heres a new choice in truly unforgettable memorial
services, honoring the memory of your departed loved one.
From the stars we are born, to the stars we will return...
Leaving Earth to touch the cosmos is an experience few
have ever known, but many have often dreamed of. Space
Services makes it possible to honor the dream and memory
of your departed loved one by launching a symbolic
portion of cremated remains into Earth’s orbit, onto the
lunar surface or into deep space.
The Space Services team brings a rich heritage of leadership in pioneering commercial activities in innovative space missions, including our Spaceflight Memorials. Space Services Inc. is a Houston, Texas-based aerospace company and a leader in public participation spaceflight. A heritage encompasses nearly 30 years of leadership in private sector space missions and applications including:
• the first ever private launch into outer space,
• the first ever post cremation memorial spaceflight, and
• several high visibility public space missions for science,
education and entertainment.
Space Services Inc. routinely contracts with leading providers
of commercial launch services to fly its payloads into space.
Memorial Spaceflights place a symbolic portion of
cremated remains into the Earth’s orbit, onto the Lunar
surface or even into deep space. Your loved one will venture
into space as part of a real space mission, riding alongside
a commercial or scientific satellite. Memorial Spaceflights
are made possible through an agreement with leading
providers of commercial space launch services.
The process is simple and completed with the utmost
respect and care. A portion of cremated remains is carefully
placed inside a permanently sealed, individual flight
container, loaded into the Space Services spacecraft and
attached to the launch vehicle.
On launch day families gather at the liftoff site to share
the experience of seeing their loved ones’ dreams of space
flight realised. With a roar and a fiery streak across the sky,
the rocket lifts its precious load higher and higher into the
peaceful solitude of space.
Memories of the flight participants' lives are shared
among friends and family at the pre-launch memorial
service and preserved on the keepsake video or DVD
(included in the service), and biographical section of Space
Services Web site
Select either the Flight Capsule Service (which launches
1 gram of cremated remains into Earth orbit) or the Flight
Module Service (which launches 7 grams to Earth orbit). Flight
reservations can be made on this Web site or via the phone.
You will receive in the mail a “Sampling Kit” which
permits you, or your funeral service provider, to send us
the cremated remains sample for the flight.
The flight sample is safely stored in a safe deposit box
at a Houston, Texas bank location. approximately 90
days before the scheduled launch, our professional staff
will transfer the cremated remains flight sample from the
storage container to the Flight Capsule or Flight Module.
This process is photographed to create a visual record of the remains handling. The Capsules and Modules are then placed inside the memorial spacecraft and hand carried to the payload integration location, usually either the actual launch site or the launch vehicle manufacturer’s location. Space Services contracts with launch vehicle providers for “secondary space” aboard a rocket that will place a commercial, scientific, or governmental satellite into orbit. The payload integration process is also photographed for permanent record keeping. As the launch date draws near, the customer service department issues newsletter e-mails and alerts, and establishes a telephone launch “hot line” to keep family and friends apprised of the status of the launch. Launches are subject to delays and we urge everyone to constantly
check with us before proceeding to the launch site. After a successful launch, Space Services provides a professionally produced videotape or DVD of the entire event to the participant’s family or designee.
Another company based out of NASHVILLE, Tennessee For US$995, Space Services Inc. will place a gram of a person's ashes in an aluminum capsule _ about the size of four dimes stacked together _ attach it to a rocket and send it into space. For US$4,300 more, seven grams of ashes are transported in a lipstick-size container.
The most famous client of Space Services: "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, who orbited Earth for six years after his death in 1991. Part of the mission of "Star Trek: The Original Series" was "to boldly go where no man has gone before."
"It's very compelling for people ... and we've helped open
a new frontier," said Charlie Chafer, chief executive of the
Houston-based firm.
Space Services conducted its first "space funeral
flight" in 1997 with Roddenberry's ashes and those of 23
participants from all walks of life, including a 4-year-old
Japanese boy, a restaurateur from New York and a couple
of former NASA scientists.
In each flight, Chafer and his eight-person team place the
ash-filled capsules in a tube and attach them inside a rocket
scheduled to send a satellite into space. Once in orbit,
the satellite peels off from the rocket's "last stage," which
continues to circle the earth with the capsules inside. “We basically hitchhike,” said Chafer, who buys
unneeded space from companies that use the crafts to
launch satellites _ typically at a cost of $30,000 a trip.
The capsules normally stay in orbit between 10 and several hundred years before falling and "vaporizing like a shooting star," Chafer said. Four other trips followed the 1997 flight, culminating with the company's most recent launch in September 2001. More trips are planned for later this year and in 2007
Contacts
For more information search under Space Services orwww.memorialspaceflights.com
www.space.com