This year we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation, and honor the aviators and support personnel who have served in the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard. In fact, Celestis would simply like to say ‘thank you’ to all the men and women who have served in any of the military branches around the world.
The rigorous and exacting training it takes to serve in naval aviation has paved a direct road into other aerospace careers. In fact, the first seven astronauts, known as both the “Original Seven” and “Astronaut Group 1,” were all test pilots in the military before they earned a place with NASA. Several of the participants aboard The New Frontier Flight made their way through the military into a lifetime career in aerospace.
Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper
One of these Original Seven will be entering into Earth’s orbit one last time. L. Gordon Cooper, who became the first man to sleep in space while he orbited the earth 22 times on NASA’s Mercury 9 flight, will be on our New Frontier Flight. He started out in the Marine Corps before working in other branches of the armed forces.
William Reuel Barnett, Jr. joined the Navy after graduating high school. After his time with them he continued his education and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. “The Quiet Man of Rocket Engines” would work on such projects as the top secret B-58 Hustler Project and the “Pluto Project.” Never once did an engine of his design and installed under his direction fail during takeoff.
Another mechanical engineer, Albert (Bert) Fabre, was first an apprentice moulder in the Royal Naval Dockyard. Astronomy was one of his hobbies and cold nights didn’t deter him from aiming his telescope skywards.
William Paul Peterson
For others, a simple love of space and flight kept on after serving. William Paul Peterson served in the Air Force. Science fiction and the idea of time travel fascinated him; this memorial spaceflight will be his third memorial service.
We look forward to our next space mission, The New Frontier Flight, as a way to honor these veterans and many others. We invite you to read the stories of our New Frontier Flight participants. For more information about events nationwide for the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation visit www.navalaviation100.org.
Finally, we also express our thanks in a very tangible way by extending a 10% discount off of our various memorial spaceflight services to veterans of all nations and branches of service.
An exhibit in the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma honors those who have journeyed into the sky. From the very beginnings of flight and wooden aircraft to the sophisticated metal crafts of the space age those who have reached the sky are honored.
Gregory Brown
One part of the exhibit is of especial mention. This particular installation debuted on July 2, 2008 and is dedicated to the life and dreams of a young boy named Gregory Brown, the first Oklahoman in space. Born December 31, 1984 his mother described him as a smiley and silly baby. As he grew up to be a boy who loved anything to do with science fiction, NASA, space, the shuttle program, Star Wars… all of it. Legos were one of his favorite tools to build the models of the rockets and planes he so admired.
When he was just 14, Greg died of complications from his leukemia treatments. His mother, September Brown, knew that a Celestis space burial was the right choice for her son. Greg is now orbiting earth on board The Millennial Flight which was successfully launched on December 20, 1999.
Nine years later the exhibit in Tulsa would open. The display highlights his love of space, his fight with leukemia and the tributes he was paid after his death. Fitting for one who loved space, the display is full of artifacts from those who helped his dream become a reality.
Millennial Flight family members pose by the launch vehicle.
There’s a letter from his bone marrow donor, a member of the US Navy, officially stating that part of his remains had been buried at sea. His mother had contacted the donor, asking him to quietly disperse a portion of the ashes into the ocean. He went further and Greg was honored not just in private but with full honors, the crew turned out in their dress blues.
A letter and patch from the Navy commemorate his status as an honorary VR-1 Squadron Star Lifter member, a squad that had been entrusted with the transport of Congressman C.W. Bill Young.
There’s a letter from that same Congressman Young. He and his wife Beverly personally carried his donor marrow to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, touched by the Brown family’s struggle.
The display also contains some of Greg’s own model rockets that he didn’t just build but flew as well. There’s a teddy bear signed by his family, given to him for his bone marrow transplant. Several baseball caps adorn the display, two of them signed by astronauts and another by a tennis champion who is also dedicated to fighting cancer in children.
The balance of the display chronicles the launch of Greg’s cremated remains by Celestis. The process started with transfer of the cremated remains to the flight module, 90 days before the launch, and the integration of the Celestis craft onto the rocket. It was an Orbital Sciences Corporation Taurus rocket that took Greg to space. The Taurus team themselves honored the Brown family by choosing to sign the rocket “Greg Brown / To Infinity And Beyond,” under the Celestis logo.
And, aptly placed, the picture of Greg holding one of his model airplanes is right next to a picture of The Millennial Flight during takeoff in all its blaze of glory.
You can read more about Greg on the Celestis Web site and you can track The Millennial Flight’s orbit in real time here.
Below are words from family members of Celestis Memorial Spaceflight participants, discussing their loved ones or expressing their feelings about our service. We will post more testimonials in the future.
Majel Roddenberry
“This may be your final frontier. It’s a symbolic gesture, but it’s a celebration, more than anything. You ask yourself ‘What did a person love the most?’ If there is a spirit hanging around, where would he be the happiest? I know where Gene’s would be the happiest.” – Majel Barrett Roddenberry, quoted in “For 24 Dearly Departed, a Rocket Trip Around the World,” by Frank Arthens. Note that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was a participant on board Celestis’ first memorial spaceflight, The Founders Flight. Both Gene and Majel will fly on our next Voyager deep space mission.
James McEachern
“Not long before he passed away he did admit the only dream that did not come true was to make it into space. I told him that somehow and someday I would try to make his last wish and dream come true. Thankfully I discovered Celestis and with their help JD’s dream will come true.” — The son of James McEachern, quoted from his father’s biography.
Alfred Floyd Turner
“We were able to fulfill our brother’s wish. It was like our last gift to him… For the last 30 seconds of the countdown, I was shaking. We were just so excited we brought him to that moment. It was so worth it” – Crystal Warren, sister of Alfred Turner, quoted in “Family comforted as ashes mingle with stars,” an article in The News-Leader (Springfield, Missouri). Alfred Turner was a participant on board The Legacy Flight, an Earth Rise Service mission, and will be on board our upcoming New Frontier Flight, an Earth Orbit Service mission.
TheCelestis Luna Service reaches out to Earth’s nearest neighbor for a uniquely compelling location to remember a special life. Celestis has an agreement with Astrobotic Technology, Inc. to launch a payload containing human cremated remains to the surface of the Moon as soon as 2013. Astrobotic reached a major milestone in June by assembling its lunar lander at Carnegie Mellon University and shipping it to a shake testing facility in California.
The Astrobotic Lunar Lander
Earlier this year Astrobotic signed a contract with SpaceX to launch Astrobotic’s robotic payload to the Moon on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Astrobotic’s expedition will search for water and deliver payloads – including Celestis’ – with the Astrobotic robot narrating its adventure while sending 3-D video to Earth. Liftoff could occur as soon as December 2013.
Members of the Astrobotic team that assembled the lunar lander, posing by the lander before the lander was shipped to California for shake testing.
The Falcon 9 upper stage will sling Astrobotic on a four-day cruise to the Moon. Astrobotic will then orbit the moon to align for landing. The spacecraft will land softly, precisely and safely using technologies pioneered by Carnegie Mellon University for guiding autonomous cars. The rover will explore for three months, operate continuously during the lunar days, and hibernate through the lunar nights. The lander will sustain payload operations with generous power and communications.
“The mission is the first of a serial campaign,” said Dr. William “Red” Whittaker, chairman of Astrobotic Technology and founder of the university’s Field Robotics Center. “Astrobotic’s missions will pursue new resources, deliver rich experiences, serve new customers and open new markets. Spurred further by incentives, contracts, and the Google Lunar X PRIZE, this is a perfect storm for new exploration.”
Time lapse video that covers the second week of lander work, which includes both assembly and preparation for shipping.
“The moon has economic and scientific treasures that went undiscovered during the Apollo era, and our robot explorers will spearhead this new lunar frontier,” said David Gump, president of Astrobotic Technology. “The initial mission will bank up to $24 million in Google’s Lunar X PRIZE, Florida’s $2 million launch bonus, and NASA’s $10 million landing contract while delivering 240 pounds of payload for space agencies and corporate marketers.”
In addition to Carnegie Mellon, where several prototypes have been built and tested, the mission is supported by industrial partners such as International Rectifier Corporation and corporate sponsors such as Caterpillar Inc. and ANSYS Inc.
Model of the Astrobotic Lander and Rover
About Astrobotic Technology
Astrobotic(TM) expeditions deliver payloads, scientific instruments and engineering experiments to the moon for space agencies, academic researchers and the media/marketing industries. NASA awarded the company a $10 million contract in 2010 for access to the expedition’s engineering data on lunar landing technologies. The company also has a NASA assignment to design a lunar mining robot to recover the frozen volatiles at the poles, which can be transformed into propellant to refuel spacecraft for their return to Earth. Other expeditions will explore “skylight” holes and lunar caves as havens from temperature extremes, radiation exposure and micrometeorite bombardment. Astrobotic also plans a robot to circle the moon, outrunning lunar sundown and avoiding the immobilizing cold of the two-week night. More information is available at www.astrobotic.net.
During Discovery’s second flight, launched on Nov. 8, 1984, another “first” was achieved — the deployment of two communications satellites and the retrieval of two others through the use of the manned maneuvering units. Above, astronaut Dale Gardner holds up a “For Sale” sign after capturing the satellites. Image Credit: NASA
In a sense, the space shuttle era began with science fiction. Before the shuttle could fly in space, engineers had to demonstrate that the spacecraft could fly in Earth’s atmosphere like a glider and land on a runway. So in 1977 NASA flew a number of atmospheric test flights of a shuttle NASA had originally intended to name “Constitution.” However, fans of the Star Trek television series mounted a successful letter-writing campaign to the White House urging President Ford to name the shuttle “Enterprise.” The Enterprise was never launched into space, and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, located near Washington Dulles International Airport.
In 1976, NASA's space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale, CA manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA officials and cast members from the 'Star Trek' television series. From left to right they are: NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei (Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, and a Celestis flight participant); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series creator Gene Rodenberry (a Celestis flight participant); an unnamed NASA official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov). Image Credit: NASA
Starting with its first launch into space on April 12, 1981 with the space shuttle Columbia and continuing with Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has carried people into orbit repeatedly, launched, recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space, the International Space Station. Who can forget the thrilling December 1993 Hubble Space Telescope service repair mission that repaired the telescope’s faulty optics, resulting in some of the most spectacular photos we have ever seen of the universe? Who can forget the flights of the Manned Manuevering Unit in the 1980s? On the other hand, who can forget the tragic losses of the Challenger in 1986, the Columbia in 2003 and, most importantly, the crews of those two missions?
Astronaut Bruce McCandless on a spacewalk using the manned maneuvering unit (MMU) on STS-41B, February 1984. Image Credit: NASA
Overall, though, the space shuttle program has had a successful launch rate. Like most spacecraft, though, the shuttle fleet experienced its share of launch delays, which result from technical or weather-related reasons. The Associated Press conducted a study in 2007 of shuttle launch performance and found that of the 118 shuttle missions that had flown by 2007, 47 were launched on time. Indeed, Celestis spacecraft often experience launch delays as well: This is par for the course in the aerospace world.
As we move forward into a new era of space exploration, marked by commercial launch services, nanosatellites, space tourism and other innovations, we honor the significant contribution of the space shuttle program to our future.
Launch of The Goddard Flight from Spaceport America
What a wonderful day! The UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket carried the Goddard Flight into space this morning. Liftoff occurred at 7:21 am MDT (8:21 am EDT, 1:21 GMT) – what a spectacular sight! You can view video of the launch here.
The crowd of onlookers – including high school and college students and their instructors, VIPs, and family members of those on board the Goddard Flight – applauded, cheered, jumped for joy, hugged one another … and cried. These memorial spaceflight launches are always emotionally-moving experiences.
On a separate note … people were really interested in our Goddard Flightpatches and pins — we had a little table set up in the assembly area and sold out of everything!
As we depart New Mexico, we will never forget the excitement and meaning of today — especially for those with loved ones on board the spacecraft. We were truly honor their lives and memories aboard the Goddard Flight.
The Goddard Flight, Celestis’ tenth memorial spaceflight, was named in honor of Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard, who is considered to be the father of modern rocket propulsion, and who conducted much of his pioneering research near Roswell, New Mexico. A physicist of great insight, Goddard also had a unique genius for invention. Given Celestis’ innovative use of rocket technology to launch cremated remains into space from Spaceport America, it is only fitting that we paid tribute to this aerospace pioneer and longtime New Mexico resident.
Born October 5, 1882 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Goddard developed his interest in space and astronomy at an early age, inspired in part by H.G. Wells’ sci-fi classic, War of the Worlds, and by his parents, who provided young Robert a telescope and otherwise encouraged him to pursue a scientific career. Goddard studied at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Clark University, earning his Ph.D. in 1911. In 1914, Goddard received two U.S. patents. One was for a rocket using liquid fuel. The other was for a two or three stage rocket using solid fuel. Note that The Goddard Flightcarried the ashes of Earth Rise service participants into space on board a solid fuel rocket.
Standing in front of the rocket in the launch tower near Roswell, New Mexico on September 23, 1935, are (left to right): Albert Kisk, Goddard’s brother-in-law and machinist; Harry F. Guggenheim; Dr. Robert H. Goddard; Col. Charles A. Lindbergh and N.T. Ljungquist, machinist. Charles Lindbergh, an advocate for Goddard and his research, helped secure a grant from the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation in 1930. With that money Goddard and his wife moved to Roswell, New Mexico, where he could conduct research and launch rockets while avoiding the scrutiny and criticism of his colleagues and the press. Photo Credit: NASA
At his own expense, Goddard began to make systematic studies about propulsion provided by various types of gunpowder. His classic document was a study he wrote in 1916 requesting funds from the Smithsonian Institution so that he could continue his research. This was later published along with his subsequent research in a famous January 1920 report to the Smithsonian Institution entitled “A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes.” In this treatise, Goddard detailed his search for methods of raising weather recording instruments higher than sounding balloons. In this search, he developed the mathematical theories of rocket propulsion.
Dr. Robert Goddard and his liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Mass.
Towards the end of his 1920 report, Goddard outlined the possibility of a rocket reaching the moon and exploding a load of flash powder there to mark its arrival. The press picked up the story and severely criticized Goddard. For example, in its January 13, 1920 issue, The New York Times tore into Goddard, arguing that he, “… does not know the relation of action to reaction, and of the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react…. Of course he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.” The widespread public ridicule culminated in his being nicknamed “The Moon Man.”
By 1926, Goddard had constructed and successfully launched the first rocket using liquid fuel. Indeed, the flight of Goddard’s rocket on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts was as significant to history as that of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk.
Goddard’s greatest engineering contributions were made during his work in the 1920s and 1930s. He received a total of $10,000 from the Smithsonian by 1927, and through the personal efforts of famed American aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, he subsequently received financial support from the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation, which financed his research in New Mexico. Goddard spent a dozen years near Roswell, New Mexico with the support of the Guggenheim Foundation, further developing and testing his rocket designs.
While Goddard’s rocket work made little impression on American government officials of the 1920s and 1930s, German rocket scientists paid close attention: Goddard’s research largely anticipated in technical detail the later German V-2 missiles, including gyroscopic control, steering by means of vanes in the jet stream of the rocket motor, gimbal-steering, power-driven fuel pumps and other devices. Indeed, Goddard inspected several captured V-2’s in 1945, confirming that the Germans had used his designs. Goddard died later that same year from throat cancer.
Robert Goddard’s contributions to missilery and spaceflight would make a lengthy list. Here are some of Dr. Goddard’s firsts:
Explored the practicality of using rocket propulsion to reach high altitudes and even the moon (1912)
Proved that a rocket will work in a vacuum, that it needs no air to push against
Developed and demonstrated the basic idea of the “bazooka” two days before the Armistice in 1918 at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
Developed and launched a liquid fuel rocket (March 16, 1926, Auburn, Mass.)
Launched a scientific payload in a rocket flight (1929, Auburn, Mass.)
Used vanes in rocket motor blast for guidance (1932, New Mexico)
Developed a gyro control apparatus for rocket flight (1932, New Mexico)
Received U.S. patent in idea of multi-stage rocket (1914)
Developed pumps suitable for rocket fuels
Launched a rocket with a motor pivoted on gimbals under the influence of a gyro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the Goddard Crater (located on the Moon’s eastern limb) and The Goddard Flight are all named in honor of this hero of space history.
Today we traveled to Spaceport America and toured the launch pad and mission control.
We left the Elephant Butte Inn around 8:45 am and arrived at mission control about 45 minutes later. There we were greeted by Tracey Larson of UP Aerospace and Dr. Pat Hynes of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC), which is the primary sponsor of tomorrow’s launch. Also present was Mr. Louis Gomez, who is one of the pioneers of Spaceport America. Tracy delivered a presentation concerning the procedures mission controllers follow when they conduct a launch. Pat discussed the NMSGC’s student launch program, and the importance of Celestis’ participation with the student launches each year. Tracey, Pat and Louis then answered our questions during Q&A.
A family member of one of the participants on board our mission sitting at mission control today
After touring mission control we drove to the launch pad where we were met by UP Aerospace President Jerry Larson, Celestis CEO Charles Chafer, and UP Aerospace’s Bruce Lee. These three gentlemen discussed the launch scheduled for tomorrow morning. We learned that the nearby White Sands Missile Range tracks the SpaceLoft XL’s flight into space and return to Earth. We saw where the Celestis payload is located on the SpaceLoft XL.
The same Celestis family member posing by the SpaceLoft XL rocket during today's launch pad tour
We also learned some very interesting information about how UP Aerospace launches the SpaceLoft XL: Instead of using a launch tower like the space shuttle uses during liftoff, the SpaceLoft XL rocket launches from a ‘launch rail.’ In order to determine how to aim the launch rail, engineers have to take into account the various wind velocities through which the rocket will fly as it ascends through the atmosphere into space. In addition to launching weather balloons, UP Aerospace uses a SODAR — a SOnic Detection And Ranging device — located near the launch pad. The SODAR sends sound waves into the atmosphere to measure atmospheric turbulence. Based on the wind velocities measured just prior to liftoff, UP Aerospace uses a computer to determine the optimal angle and elevation of the launch rail so as to launch the rocket on the best possible spaceflight trajectory.
Of course, we all had an opportunity to walk around the launch pad, go up to the rocket and actually touch it, and take photos.
After completing the launch pad tour we returned to the Elephant Butte Inn where we plan to get to bed early this evening as we have to leave quite early tomorrow morning for Spaceport America. Launch is projected to occur as early as 7:00 am our time (9:00 am EDT, 1:00 pm GMT).
Elephant Butte Lake State Park features the largest and most popular lake in New Mexico. The lake is really a reservoir that was created almost a century ago when a dam was built across the Rio Grande River. The reservoir is about 40 miles long, and has over 200 miles of shoreline. The Park is a popular tourist attraction known for its water sports and trophy size fish, including striper, bass and wall eye.
“Elephant Butte” is an interesting name. Although fossils of the stegomastodon (a primitive relative of today’s elephant) have been discovered near the reservoir, the area was not named for its former and formidable inhabitants – which included the famous Tyrannosaurs Rex dinosaur. Rather, the name “Elephant Butte” was derived from the eroded core of an ancient volcano, now an island in the reservoir, in the shape of an elephant.
Elephant Butte
We’ll be greeting our guests this evening at the Celestis registration table where we will issue tickets for the vans that will ferry all of us (including our guests) between the Elephant Butte Inn and Spaceport America.
Tomorrow morning we’ll travel to Spaceport America and take a tour of the launch pad, see the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL launch vehicle, and tour UP Aerospace’s mission control.
We’ll be getting to bed early Thursday evening as we have to board the vans again Friday morning at 4:15 am for the trip back to Spaceport America to view the launch.
The Goddard Flight, a Celestis Earth Rise service mission, is flying as a secondary payload on UP Aerospace’s SpaceLoft XL launch vehicle that’s projected to liftoff Friday. The primary payload is a set of 27 experiments of elementary, junior high, high school and college students from New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium (NMSGC) at New Mexico State University is sponsoring the launch of this primary payload.
The rocket will loft 27 student experiments into space from Spaceport America, culminating nearly a year of development and planning. “Working together with our partners at UP Aerospace and many other dedicated, talented professionals,” said NMSGC Director Dr. Pat Hynes, “we are making every effort to assure the success of this unique scientific opportunity for the students.”
The student launch program was created by the NMSGC to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs for area students. This program supports the integration of space science in the classroom by providing annual access to space for student experiments at the end of each academic year.
Experiments include 35 sensors such as carbon dioxide detectors, electromagnetic field, radiation, acceleration, temperature, pressure and electricity sensors. For example, students at Desert Ridge Middle School, Albuquerque, New Mexico have an experiment on board that will measure the Earth’s magnetosphere (the region in space whose shape is determined by the Earth’s internal magnetic field) as the rocket travels from Earth to space and back. Students at Picacho Middle School, Las Cruces, New Mexico will study the success of packing materials in launching fragile items to space. And students at both Sierra Middle School and Zia Middle School in Las Cruces, New Mexico want to know how four common raw materials (nickel, brass, copper, and silver) used to build space-rated hardware and equipment behave thermodynamically from launch to landing.
The New Mexico Space Grant Consortium is a member of the congressionally funded National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program that is administered by NASA and sponsored by New Mexico State University. The program promotes and inspires lifelong learning in areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as it pertains to space-related activities. The consortium supports a wide range of projects and scholarship opportunities, including the Student Launch Program.
