The New Frontier Flight, a Celestis Earth Orbit Service mission that was launched May 22, 2012 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, has reentered Earth’s atmosphere, blazing like a shooting star in final tribute to the 320 people on board this historic memorial spaceflight. Reentry occurred during the satellite’s 576th orbit of Earth at 10:22 pm CDT June 26 (3:22 am June 27).
The New Frontier Flight was dedicated to the spirit of the 320 mission participants and to people everywhere who share the passion for exploration and discovery. The spacecraft carried a symbolic portion of the cremated remains of each flight participant on Earth orbit. Among the people aboard this mission were Mercury Seven NASA astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Star Trek actor James Doohan (who played “Mr. Scott”) and hundreds of people from various walks of life in the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, India, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, The Netherlands, France, South Africa and Russia.
Family Feedback
In light of the reentry, several Celestis families have written us, expressing their gratitude for our service. “Thank you for keeping our family informed,” writes James Harmon, the father of New Frontier Flight participant Dane Kauffman Harmon. “Our experience with Celestis has been first class from beginning to end.” Jerry Norman, a funeral director for one of our clients, writes, “Thanks for the update! Great service!” And Todd Johnson, son of New Frontier Flight participant Nancy L. Johnson, writes, “Congratulations on a spectacular launch and successful mission!… I love sharing our Celestis story with friends and strangers alike. I love what Celestis offers. It’s not just about a launch. It’s about a celebration – about dreams – about memories that will last my lifetime. Thank you and everyone at Celestis for your hard work and perseverance to bring celebrations, dreams and memories to the families and friends of the launch participants. All of you make a difference in the lives of others. I wish you the very best of success!”
Visit The New Frontier Flight webpage to see video of the launch.