The Celestis Blog - The blog for Celestis Memorial Spaceflights

Giving Tuesday: The Celestis Foundation

On this Giving Tuesday, we spotlight the XPRIZE – the global leader in designing and implementing innovative competition models to solve the world’s grandest challenges. The Celestis Foundation was one of the earliest donors to the XPRIZE — well before $10 million was raised to award the winner of the Ansari XPRIZE.

The XPRIZE, later titled the Ansari XPRIZE for suborbital spaceflight, motivated 26 teams from seven nations to invest more than $100 million in pursuit of the $10 million purse. On October 4, 2004, the Ansari XPRIZE was awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures for its successful flights of SpaceShipOne, marking the dawn of the personal spaceflight revolution and signifying a radical breakthrough in prize philanthropy.

White Knight & SpaceShipOne — Slung below its equally innovative mothership dubbed White Knight, SpaceShipOne rides above planet Earth, photographed during a flight test. Photo Credit: Scaled Composites

The original XPRIZE was announced in 1996, offering a $10 million prize to the first privately financed team that could build and fly a three‐passenger vehicle 100 kilometers into space twice within two weeks. In 1997 Celestis hosted a Texas XPRIZE event at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas. Our event featured a presentation by Erik Lindbergh (grandson of Charles Lindbergh). Celestis CEO Charles Chafer served on the XPRIZE’s earliest Advisory Board.

Catherine and David Hannah, together with Eric Lindbergh — Catherine and David Hannah, Jr., founder of Space Services Inc. of America, with Erik Lindbergh (right) at the 1997 Texas XPRIZE event at the Lone Star Flight Museum.

The Celestis Foundation shares your dedication to promoting innovative projects that improve life on Earth and stimulate our ongoing exploration of the universe. When you select a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight for a loved one or yourself, you are also making a real contribution to a positive, sustainable human future. A portion of the proceeds from each Memorial Spaceflight mission is donated to individuals, institutions, and organizations — such as XPRIZE — that embody the spirit and commitment of mission participants.

xprize_galveston_peter_d_560 — XPRIZE Founder and Executive Chairman Peter H. Diamonds, M.D. (center) at the 1997 Texas XPRIZE event at the Lone Star Flight Museum.

The Celestis Foundation ensures a continuing source of support for the people and projects that will accelerate the opening of the space frontier and the preservation of Earth. Learn more about the Celestis Foundation.

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Celestis Luna Service Host Announces Support for Lunar Science Payloads

Earthrise Moon Express (MoonEx), the host of the next Celestis lunar memorial spaceflight, has announced that it will provide $1.5M in private funding for NASA-selected, lunar science payloads to fly to the Moon — including a payload that will fly along with the Celestis participants on board the Celestis Luna 02 flight. When families choose Celestis memorial spaceflights they not only fulfill their loved ones’ dreams of spaceflight, they also support the exploration of space.

Moon Express made its announcement November 1, 2016 at the annual meeting of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG), in response to NASA’s call for lunar instrument concepts that would be flown to the Moon utilizing commercial mission services. Under its Lunar Scout Program, Moon Express will provide up to $500,000 in funding for each instrument selected by NASA to fly aboard the company’s first three commercial lunar missions of opportunity, beginning next year in 2017.

“The Moon Express Lunar Scout Program is designed to expand our partnership with NASA and support the lunar science community with new low cost lunar orbiter and surface missions,” said company founder & CEO, Bob Richards. “Our goal is to collapse the cost of access to the Moon to enable a new era of lunar exploration and development for students, scientists and commercial interests.”

MoonEx spacecraft approaching the Moon — Image Credit: MoonEx

Earlier this year, Moon Express became the first private company to receive government permission to travel beyond Earth’s orbit into deep space and land on the Moon. The company received the landmark U.S. policy decision on July 20th, 2016, following in depth consultations with the FAA, the White House, the State Department, NASA and other federal agencies. Moon Express plans a series of low cost robotic missions to the Moon starting in 2017 in support of science, exploration and commerce, with a long term goal of prospecting and harvesting lunar resources.

Moon Express was selected by NASA as an industry partner in 2014 under the Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown (CATALYST) program, designed to spur commercial cargo transportation capabilities to the surface of the Moon. Under the Lunar CATALYST program, NASA has provided Moon Express with technical support in the development of the company’s lunar lander systems, including the first ever flight tests of a commercial lander test vehicle conducted at the NASA Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility.

The Lunar Scout Program is intended to be a pathfinder beyond Lunar CATALYST for new public private partnerships enabling delivery of NASA funded lunar science and exploration payloads by Moon Express commercial missions of opportunity.

MoonEx lunar lander on the Moon — Image Credit: MoonEx

“Public-private partnerships can further enable the exploration of the Moon and we applaud NASA and Moon Express for their initiatives,” remarked Dr. Clive Neal, LEAG Chairman. “Programs of these kind will enable new lunar missions of interest to the national and international scientific and exploration communities.”

ABOUT MOON EXPRESS
Moon Express, Inc. (MoonEx) is a privately funded commercial space company blazing a trail to the Moon to unlock its mysteries and resources with low cost robotic spacecraft products & services using exponential technologies. Driven by long-term goals of exploring and developing lunar resources for the benefit of humanity, the company has short-term business on-ramps of providing lunar transportation and services for government and commercial customers. NASA partnered with Moon Express in 2014 under its Lunar CATALYST program to help build the capability to return the United States to the surface of the Moon. In October 2015, Moon Express announced a launch contract with Rocket Lab USA for 3 launches to the Moon beginning in 2017. In 2016, Moon Express announced an agreement with the US Air Force to utilize Cape Canaveral Launch Complexes 17 and 18 for the development of its spacecraft.

Moon Express is a leading contender to win the $40M Google Lunar XPRIZE competition.

The Moon Express founders, Dr. Robert (Bob) Richards, Naveen Jain, and Dr. Barney Pell, believe in the long term economic potential of the Moon to produce resources essential to humanity’s future on Earth and in space. For more information about Moon Express, visit: www.moonexpress.com

Reservations are open for the Celestis Luna 02 mission. Contact us for more information.

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Jamie Kyle Ottaway

Jamie Kyle Ottaway – a wonderful son, caring brother and the very best of friends

Born in Salisbury District Hospital in England, at 9.03am, on the 12th of March 1991 and spent most of his life in the village of Ludgershall, in Wiltshire.

From a very young age, Jamie had an enquiring mind, always keen to learn and understand, looking into things and often dismantling toys to see how they worked… (not often putting them back together). His favourite toys being Kinex and Lego, where he would ignore the instructions and build something completely different, including a Greek temple from a race car and an AT-AT from an aeroplane.

From the age of 11 Jamie chose to attend the Duke of York’s Military Academy in Dover, where as well as his academic studies he became a saxophone player in the school’s marching band, attending many international sporting events as part of pre game and half time entertainment. He also became the Regimental Sergeant Major in the cadets, which was the highest rank achievable by students.

When Jamie left school, he gained a place on the QinetiQ apprenticeship scheme as an Aeronautical Engineer. A four year work placement which had him working on many military aircraft including Typhoon class fighters, Tornadoes and his personal favourite, the Apache Helicopter. In March 2012 Jamie won the Joe Morrall Award for a paper on The British Experimental Rotor Program and was nominated by QinetiQ for the National competition held in London. In October that year, he put forward his paper in a presentation to the Royal Aeronautical Society and came first in the under 25 category, winning the prestigious, NE Rowe Medal.

In his personal life Jamie was a keen motorcyclist and joined the Royal British Legion Riders, becoming their youngest ever member. They are a charity group that raise funds for military charities through various ride outs, events and often provide escorts for repatriations. He had raised money for the Army Benevolent Fund and when they heard of his passing, they formed a “Donate in Memory” campaign, where a small plaque is placed on-line and people can donate in that person’s memory. (See www.soldierscharity.org/donate/donate-in-memory) Jamie was the first person on there and is the only person with a full bio… he is still an inspiration to others.

Everyone that knows him will miss Jamie, something attested to by the attendance at his funeral, when over 200 people came to pay homage to their “Grand Overlord, Jotters”. Not everyone could fit in, so many stood in the rain, outside.

We try to celebrate his life, more than mourn his passing and this spaceflight is exactly that, a celebration. Although we are sad that he has gone, we are happier that he was ever here at all….

Jamie Kyle Ottaway was a participant on Celestis’ sixth Earth Rise Service memorial spaceflight, The Conestoga Flight.

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Tom (Maddog) Baggette

Tom (Maddog) Baguette Thomas Laffin Baggette, Jr., 75, of Muscle Shoals Alabama, loving husband, father, grandfather, aerospace engineer, and sports enthusiast, passed away September 27, 2011 after a brave struggle with several serious illnesses, never losing his keen intellect or sense of humor, at Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital, Florence, Alabama.

Mr. Baggette was born on December 21, 1935 in Greenville, Mississippi, the son of the late Thomas L. Sr. and Jesse Mae Carroll Baggette. During his early years in Leland, Mississippi he was a star athlete and scholar. He played quarterback and was an all conference basketball player. At his high school graduation he was presented the inaugural Bobby Henry Award as the outstanding Washington County graduate. Following graduation in 1953 he entered Auburn University and was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. While in college he married his high school sweetheart Barbara Mason. In 1957 he graduated from Auburn with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

Mr. Baggette took a job after college with Northrop Corp., at Cape Canaveral, Florida working on the first U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile. During his long career as an aeronautical engineer he worked on numerous space and aircraft programs in Florida, California, Utah, and Mississippi. These programs included: Snark, Atlas, Agena, Ranger, Mariner, Gemini, Saturn, Apollo, B-1 Bomber, and the Space Shuttle Main Engines.

Tom (Maddog) Baguette Mr. Baggette was honored with a NASA Silver Snoopy Award. The Silver Snoopy is an award created by NASA Astronauts and personally presented by them. The Silver Snoopy is awarded to employees who represent the core principles for outstanding flight safety and mission success. He ended his long test conductor career with Rockwell International Corp. on the space shuttle main engine testing at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi. During an interview at Stennis he is quoted on his work on the Apollo 11command module.

“When Armstrong and Aldrin landed it was quite a thrill. I could not talk myself into the fact I had had something to do with it. Then, years later, I walked into the National Air & Space Museum and there it sat, the Apollo 11 command module. I had crawled all over inside that thing in Florida and here it is in a museum. During the work it was not a special feeling. You treated them all the same. You knew that people were going to ride in it. You had to do your best job. I thoroughly enjoyed that job. That was fun.”

An avid golfer, he had a total of five hole in ones. He enjoyed playing with a regular group of friends for many years at Windance Country Club, near his Long Beach, Mississippi home from 1977 until his illness.

Mr. Baggette is survived by his wife Barbara Ann Mason Baggette; one daughter Mary Weller of Panorama Village, Texas; two sons, Clint (wife Joanne) of Loveland, Ohio and Steve (wife Shonda) of Muscle Shoals, Alabama; two grandsons, Kyle Weller (wife Erin) of Houston, Texas and Connor Baggette of Muscle Shoals, Alabama; and one brother, Col. Jack Baggette, USMC, Ret’d. (wife Sandra), Port Royal, South Carolnia; and sister-in-law Gwen Mason (Statesboro, Georgia).

One precious to our hearts has gone;
The voice we loved is stilled.
The place made vacant in our home;
Can never more be filled.
Our Father in his wisdom called;
The one his love had given;
And so on earth the body lies;
His soul is safe in Heaven.
Some day, some time, my eyes shall see;
The face I loved so well.
Some day, some time, his hand I’ll clasp;
And never say farewell.
The pearly gates were opened;
A gentle voice said “Come,”
And with farewells spoken
He gently entered home.
His weary hours and days of pain;
His troubled nights are past;
And in our aching hearts we know;
He has found sweet rest at last.
To have, to hold and then to part;
Is the greatest sorrow of our heart.
Keep him Jesus, in Thy keeping;
‘Til I reach that shining shore;
Then, O Master, Let me have him;
And love him as I did before.

Tom (Maddog) Baggette was a participant on Celestis’ sixth Earth Rise Service memorial spaceflight, The Conestoga Flight.

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Spaceport America Tourist Attractions

Our next Earth Rise Service mission will launch out of Spaceport America, New Mexico. If you’re traveling to New Mexico — “The Land of Enchantment” — to view the liftoff in person, consider visiting some of the many tourist attractions near Spaceport America.

Terminal/Hangar — The “Gateway to Space” terminal/hangar at Spaceport America. Image Credit: Pinterest.com

First, join us on our tour of Spaceport America on “L-1,” the day prior to liftoff. We’ll tour mission control and the launch pad where you can see the UP Aerospace launch vehicle that will carry your loved one into space. We’ll then drive to the futuristic “Gateway to Space” terminal/hangar where space tourists will board Virgin Galactic spacecraft.

We recommend a visit to one of the area’s famous hot springs, which have a reputation as ancient healing remedies, in nearby Truth or Consequences. In fact, the city of Truth or Consequences was originally named “Hot Springs.”

Another must-see is the outdoor display at the White Sands Missile Range Museum of over 50 rockets and missiles that were tested at the U.S. government’s famous White Sands Missile Range. White Sands is the U.S.’ largest overland military test range. It was at White Sands’ “Trinity Site” that the world’s first atomic bomb was tested on July 16, 1945.

White Sands National Monument is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, dunes have engulfed 275 square miles of desert creating the world’s largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Monument preserves this dunefield, along with the plants and animals that have adapted to its constantly changing environment.

Elephant Butte Lake State Park encompasses the largest and most popular lake in New Mexico, and provides camping, boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, hiking and bird watching. Southern New Mexico’s mild climate makes this park a popular year-round destination.

Visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History and learn about the pioneering rocket research Robert Goddard conducted in New Mexico.

We also recommend making the roughly two-hour drive to Alamogordo for a visit to the New Mexico Museum of Space History. The museum stresses the significant role that the state of New Mexico has played in the development of the U.S. space program. For example, Robert Goddard, the father of American rocketry, conducted much of his pioneering aerospace research in New Mexico. Visit the museum to learn more about Goddard’s work, and to see the museum’s many fascinating space history artifacts on display.

For more tourist information, visit the websites of the Elephant Butte Chamber of Commerce, the Truth or Consequences Chamber of Commerce, the Sierra County New Mexico Recreation and Tourism Board, the Las Cruces Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the New Mexico Department of Tourism.

Visit our new blog at www.Celestis.com/blog/

The Bell X-1 and Celestis

A Bell X-1 drops from a B-29 in the 1940s. — Bell X-1 released from a B-29 before ignition. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force

On October 14, 1947 Capt. Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier when he flew his Bell X-1 — released from a B-29 plane over Muroc Field (now Edwards Air Force Base), California — to an airspeed of Mach 1.06. 50 years later, the principal designer of the preliminary concept for the Bell X-1 — aerospace engineer Benson Hamlin — also made aerospace history as one of the people on the first private memorial spaceflight, the Celestis Founders Flight.

Celestis Founders Flight launch — Launch of the first Celestis memorial spaceflight, The Founders Flight, April 21, 1997

Like the Bell X-1 that was carried to an altitude of 43,000 feet by a mothership and then released on it historic flight, on April 21, 1997 an Orbital Sciences Corporation Stargazer aircraft took off from the Canary Islands, Spain, carrying a Pegasus launch vehicle with the Celestis Founders Flight payload of human ashes. After carrying the Pegasus XL booster to an altitude of approximately 38,000 feet, the Stargazer released the winged rocket for a five-second free fall before the main engine ignited, powering the three-stage solid fuel vehicle into low Earth orbit. The Founders Flight — carrying Benson Hamlin, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and 22 others — orbited Earth until it re-entered the atmosphere on May 20, 2002.

An aviation pioneer whose aircraft design career spanned the era from biplanes to rockets, Benson Hamlin’s fascination with flight began when he was a young boy in Lakeville, Connecticut. He learned to fly an airplane, but his greater interest was how and why they flew.

Mr. Hamlin’s goal as a young man was to become an aeronautical engineer. He attained that goal by earning full scholarships to The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, and to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, New York. He graduated from RPI in the school’s first class of aeronautical engineers — a class of thirteen — in 1937.

Mr. Hamlin’s forty year career began at Chance-Vought Aircraft Corporation in Connecticut. Throughout his career, his desire to acquire greater knowledge, experience, and expertise in his field led him to airplane companies such as Bell Aircraft in Buffalo, New York where he did his design work for the Bell X-1, which is now on display in the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.

Bell X-1 in National Air & Space Museum — The Bell X-1 on display in the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Mr. Hamlin’s historic achievement was recognized in 1993 when he was awarded the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ prestigious Aircraft Design Award. While at Bell he also designed extremely sophisticated microwave missile-guided systems before the days of solid-state electronics.

During Mr. Hamlin’s aeronautical quest, he worked for companies such as as Vega Aircraft in California; General Electric in Cincinnati; Bell Helicopter in Arlington, Texas; and Boeing in Seattle. While at Boeing he served as assistant program manager of the Dynasoar Program. At Boeing-Cape Canaveral, he worked on the Apollo Program.

Mr. Hamlin was inducted into the Niagara Frontier Aviation Hall of Fame in Amherst, New York in 1987. He wrote a classic textbook, Flight Testing Conventional and Jet Propelled Aircraft, and was cited by other authors in many publications.

In life, Benson Hamlin ranked as a pioneer in aeronautics and astronautics. His was a never-ending journey for experience and knowledge. His participation in the Founders Flight was a fitting tribute to this leader of humanity’s journey to the stars.

British Funeral Flights

UK Flag Many British families have chosen Celestis funeral flights to commemorate the lives of their departed loved ones. Celestis encourages Britons interested in our unique space funeral services to work with Heavens Above Fireworks, which is our master distributor in the United Kingdom. The company is led by Mr. Fergus Jamieson of Epping, Essex.

“For over a decade Celestis has been fortunate to develop a strong, working relationship with Mr. Fergus Jamieson. We are thrilled to work with Mr. Jamieson and our cooperation with his company over the years has always been very professional and prompt,” says Chris Chol, Director of Client Services. “We appreciate the dedication and efforts that Mr. Jamieson has devoted to offering funeral flights to his clients. It is truly inspiring to work with him to bring the dream of spaceflight one step closer to reality to our families in the UK, and contribute together to our future in space exploration.”

British Celestis participant Eileen Stanford

Mr. Jamieson said, “We at Heavens Above Fireworks were really pleased to be appointed the UK’s Master Distributor for Celestis. Although we primarily disperse cremated remains in spectacular Memorial fireworks displays, the opportunity to extend our product offering to real rockets was just too good to miss for us and our clients. We find working with Celestis a delight: The team is always charming and they liaise well with our clients.”

Heavens Above Fireworks offers customers fireworks displays that incorporate cremation ashes. Their goal is to create a happier memorable event rather than a traditional funeral memorial. Firework displays often happen several weeks or even months after the traditional funeral ceremony, after the initial grieving period, and offer the family a chance to come together to truly celebrate the life of their loved one.

Fireworks

Mr. Jamieson has worked hard to be the first and foremost company to offer scattering ashes by fireworks. He and those at his company are dedicated to bringing each family they work with a sense of respect for their and their loved one’s wishes. One of their clients called it “the icing on the cake.” The website says it best: “A happier way to say goodbye.”

Having such an excellent distributor in the UK helps Celestis reach a wider audience who might not have otherwise heard of us. It also allows clients in the UK to have a British contact who can address questions and concerns during the decision making process. Mr. Jamieson has also been so kind as to prominently feature Celestis on his own website.

Celebrating Star Trek’s 50th anniversary

Celestis joins Star Trek fans in celebrating the 50th anniversary of this famous science fiction series, which was the brainchild of Celestis participant Gene Roddenberry. On September 8, 1966 the Starship Enterprise began its five decade mission through television and cinema, inspiring people the world over — including many of the people who have flown on Celetsis memorial spaceflights.

The Starship Enterprise studio model used in filming the original 1960s Star Trek television series. Image Credit: National Air and Space Museum

Celestis was proud to fly Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry on our very first memorial spaceflight, the Founders Flight, an Earth Orbit service mission. On April 21, 1997 Roddenberry joined 1960s icon Timothy Leary and 22 others on a history-making flight into Earth orbit — the very first private memorial spaceflight. The ashes of the 24 people on board the Founders Flight would orbit earth every 90 minutes until their Celestis spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere, blazing like a shooting star in final tribute, on May 20, 2002 northeast of Australia. Both Gene and Majel Roddenberry will fly on Celestis’ first Voyager Service memorial spaceflight into deep space.

Star Trek‘s “Mr. Scott” — actor James Doohan — has flown on three Celestis missions. His wife, Wende Doohan, wrote about his participation on Celestis memorial spaceflights:

Jimmy absolutely adored playing the role of Scotty on Star Trek. He promoted space exploration and travel where ever he went. He would have given almost anything to be able to actually go into space. When asked if he would ever ride the Space Shuttle, with a twinkle in his eye he replied, “In a heartbeat!” He finally gets his wish, through the efforts of Space Services, Inc. [the parent company of Celestis].

George Takei, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols — James Doohan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 31, 2004. He is pictured here with George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and Grace Lee Whitney (back), after the ceremony.

In his tribute to James Doohan published on the Celestis website, Star Trek actor George Takei (“Mr. Sulu”) wrote of Doohan’s Celestis memorial spaceflights:

Jimmy Doohan was a hearty, down-to-earth guy. Now, he will be more than that. He has asked that his remains be shot out to space.

That is so you, Jimmy.

When all of us who loved you look up at the vastness of the twinkling night sky, we’ll know that you are truly there among the stars, beaming down at us from the heavens with that wonderful, sparkling smile of yours.

The Star Trek Starship Enterprise — The Star Trek Enterprise model being filmed by visual effects artist Linwood Dunn in 1966 at Film Effects of Hollywood. Image Credit: National Air and Space Museum

Music.com reported on January 20, 2005 that, “Star Trek star Patrick Stewart is planning a funeral fitting his sci-fi past – he wants to be launched into space. The 64-year-old actor has already decided how he wants to depart the earth, and he plans to use his links with the the show to make sure his send off is a spectacular one…’I think it’s just the drama of being able to leave the Earth like that.”

Star Trek fans flying on Celestis Memorial Spaceflights

While Star Trek stars fly with Celestis among the stars above, so too do ordinary people for whom Star Trek was an important part of life. For example, Eugene Hottinger — a painter from St. Paul, Minnesota — was an avid Star Trek fan. His wife writes in his Celestis biography, “When he learned that some of Gene Roddenberry’s ashes were sent into orbit, he arranged to ‘make it so’ for himself. For the rest of my life, when I look to the heavens, I will be reminded that part of him inhabits ‘Space, The Final Frontier.’” Mr. Hottinger will fly on Celestis’ next Earth Orbit mission, the Heritage Flight.

Read through the biographies of Celestis flight participants and you’ll soon find that many were Star Trek/sci-fans, including Heritage Flight participants:

Marj Krueger, the science fiction writer known as “Jayge Carr”;
Malcolm Itzstein, a pubic works employee from Australia;
Harvey Levine, a medical lab technician from Massachusetts;
Charles Snipp, a computer expert from Kentucky;
Bert Watkins, a truck driver from Canada;
Gregory Wayman, who worked in finance in Missouri; and
Audrey Miller, an operating room nurse from Illinois.

Whether you make arrangements for yourself or for a deceased loved one, Celestis invites you to consider our unique memorial spaceflight services and, “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” Contact us today — our hailing frequencies are always open!

Celestis Firsts

Celestis and its parent company, Space Services, Inc., have repeatedly led the way forward in humanity’s future in space. Among the Celestis Firsts:

Conestoga 1 launch — Launch of Conestoga 1, the first private rocket in space

The first private enterprise to launch a rocket into outer space! On September 9, 1982, Space Services Inc. of America – under the direction of Mercury 7 astronaut Donald K. “Deke” Slayton – made history with the launch of Conestoga 1 from Matagorda Island, Texas. Prior to liftoff, Space Services cleared all regulatory hurdles for the launch, laying the legal foundation for future commercial spaceflights.

The first private memorial spaceflight! Celestis made history in 1997 when it became the first company to fly people’s ashes into space. The mission, called “The Founders Flight,” carried the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, 1960s icon Timothy Leary and 22 others into Earth orbit.

On April 21, 1997 an Orbital Sciences Corporation Stargazer aircraft took off from the Canary Islands, Spain, carrying a Pegasus launch vehicle with the Celestis payload. After carrying the Pegasus XL booster to an altitude of approximately 38,000 feet, the Stargazer released the winged rocket for a five-second, dramatic free fall before the main engine ignited, powering the three-stage solid fuel vehicle into low Earth orbit.

The individual flight capsules remained within the Celestis spacecraft throughout its orbit and re-entered the atmosphere May 20, 2002 northeast of Australia. This Celestis Earth Orbit Service launch garnered worldwide media coverage, including the BBC, CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. The Founders Flight was the first of many Celestis memorial spaceflights to come.

Eugene M. Shoemaker flew to the Moon on Celestis’ first Luna Service mission

The first lunar burial! Celestis provided its first Luna Service mission by helping friends of noted planetary geologist Dr. Eugene Shoemaker include a symbolic portion of Dr. Shoemaker’s cremated remains on the NASA Lunar Prospector mission launched January 6, 1998 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. On July 31, 1999 the spacecraft impacted the lunar surface inside a permanently shadowed crater near the south lunar pole, creating a permanent monument to Dr. Shoemaker.

Space Services was also the first company to:

Sign an agreement with NASA for the use of a national launch range – Wallops Island, Virginia;
Receive a contract from NASA for the provision of commercial launch services – Consort 1/Starfire;
Develop a commercial land remote sensing venture – Space America; and,
File an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a low earth orbit communications satellite constellation – Globesat Express.

Putting Families First

Family hugging — A family shares in the joy of fulfilling their loved one’s spaceflight wish.

Celestis continues to make space history with each of our launches. We’re the only company that has successfully flown memorial spaceflights. While there are many Celestis Firsts, Celestis puts our clients first. We have been honored to fly more people in space than all of the world’s space agencies combined. As the families that have entrusted us to fulfill their loved ones’ dreams of spaceflight can attest, we treat each of our clients with the utmost respect, keeping them fully informed of launch preparations, and providing them a meaningful and emotionally moving way to honor the lives of their loved ones. Contact us today to commemorate the life of your departed loved one.

Charles A. Carr

In the relatively modern fields of space education and space entertainment, few people have contributed more to bringing the vastness of space home to the public than Charles A. Carr.

Charlie was born on January 3, 1956, in Effingham, Illinois. His family moved to Los Angeles, California, when he was a child, and he continued to live and work on the West Coast.

Charlie was always a supporter of the world’s space programs beginning with the Apollo 11 moon landing he watched as a child. In college he majored in astronomy at the University of Southern California. There he helped to develop the space education program at the California Museum of Science & Industry (CMSI) at Exposition Park.

At CMSI Charlie developed the traveling Flying Museum that was housed in a DC-3 aircraft. He also oversaw the design and construction of the new CMSI IMAX theater that opened in 1984, and presided over numerous statewide science fairs.

Always the educator and space activist, Charlie was involved with many grassroots organizations that supported making space travel accessible to everyone. Some of these groups included The World Space Foundation, The Orange County Space Society, the Aerospace Legacy Foundation, and The Space Tourism Society.

Since the mid-1980s, Charlie was deeply involved in the conceptual design of space-related projects, including programs that blended the concept of space education, entertainment, and space tourism. His “edutainment” projects toured the country and were features at popular locations such as Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags Theme Parks, and the Queen Mary. Several of these projects included a full-scale space shuttle model, the first ever in a touring exhibit.

Charlie’s daughter Christa, named for the teacher lost on the space shuttle Challenger, was often his companion on stargazing and meteor shower adventures. She adored her father for his ready smile and hugs, his instant spinning of a fanciful bedtime story, and his sense of wonder and adventure.

When Christa packed some of his ashes for transport aboard the Celestis mission, she said she hoped that some of the ashes were from her daddy’s heart because his heart loved space so much. Now she will gaze at the skies after dark, as they used to do together. Perhaps she’ll see a shooting star that could be her daddy soaring free through the night, lighting up the sky the way he illuminated her life, and so many others.

Charlie departed this life too soon and too young on August 20, 1999. He was a gifted, highly intelligent, articulate man who was a loving son, husband, and father. He was often called “a gentle giant” by his many friends and associates. As we draw closer to the day when space travel is available to everyone, we will surely be riding on the shoulders of that gentle giant.

Ad Astra, Charlie. You are loved and you are missed. Someday we hope to catch up with you in space.

Charles A. Carr was a participant on Celestis’ third Earth Orbit Service memorial spaceflight, The Millennial Flight.