Elysium Space is a
space burial
Space burial is the launching of human remains into space. Missions may go into orbit around the Earth or to extraterrestrial bodies such as the Moon, or farther into space.
Remains are sealed until the spacecraft burns up upon re-entry into ...
company. Burial options the company offers are Earth-orbit and then reentry burnup, and delivery to the lunar surface. The company was the first to offer burial on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
History
Elysium Space was founded by Thomas Civeit in 2013.
In 2015, a launch aboard a USAF
Super Strypi rocket failed to reach orbit. The remains will be reflown in the second launch. The remains were to have orbited for 2 years before reentering and going out in a blaze.
It will offer a service to launch the ashes of dead people into space aboard a
SpaceX Falcon 9
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX.
The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and pay ...
rocket that will launch from
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to:
* Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name
* USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida
* Vandenberg Sp ...
in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, United States. This rocket rideshare will launch ashes into a
Sun-synchronous orbit about the Earth. The Earth orbiting ashes will eventually have its orbit decay and return to Earth as a shooting star.
Memorial spacecraft
Elysium Space launches the cremated remains aboard their Elysium Star space mausoleum satellites, a series of 1U cubesat
A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...
s. The Earth-orbiting satellites are designed to remain in space for 2 years before orbital decay brings them back to Earth as a shooting star, burning up in a blazing reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. There are two main types of atmospheric entry: ''uncontrolled entry'', such as the ...
.Astrobotic
Astrobotic Technology is an American privately held company that is developing space robotics technology for lunar and planetary missions. It was founded in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon professor Red Whittaker and his associates with the goal of w ...
's Peregrine lunar lander for their lunar mausoleums.[
]
Missions
* Lunar missions are yet to be scheduled
* Extrasolar missions are yet to be scheduled
See also
* Celestis, another space burial company
References
External links
* {{Official website, elysiumspace.com
American companies established in 2013
Private spaceflight companies
Space burials
Funeral-related industry