Fri, Dec 24, 2004
SpaceX's Falcon One To Carry Remains To The Stars
When you go to the
Spirit in the Sky, would you really like to take off -- out of
Earth's atmosphere? For about 125 people whose last wish was to do
just that, their time is soon to come.
The main payload aboard the SpaceX Falcon One rocket to be
launched in February will be a Navy satellite. But it will also
carry the cremated remains of about 125 people.
Internet entrepreneur and SpaceX founder Elon Musk says if you
gotta go, this is a great way to do it. "If you had to check off
where you wanted your ashes to go... space would be the coolest
option," he told CNET News.
Houston-based Space Services actually offers the Final Frontier
as a final resting place. For between $995 and $5,300, depending on
weight, Space Services will also send your remains on that Final
Voyage. In fact, Space Services has already done so at least four
times. Among its customers: "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry,
and LSD guru Timothy Leary. The remains, packed into a small
capsule embedded in the nosecone of the Space Services vehicle, are
injected into orbit, where they remain for about 10 years before
plunging back to earth in a final cremation.
On the next trip, scheduled for February, the remains of
astrogeologist Mareta West and Hollywood writer/director John
Meridyth Lucas will fly into orbit. West is best known for maps of
the moon used in the Apollo landings. Lucas was a Roddenberry
prot�g� who wrote and directed several episodes of
the original "Start Trek."
"He loved to travel when he was alive, so we figured why should
death slow him down?" Lucas's son Michael told CNET in a phone
interview.
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