Cremated remains of 100 people sent to space

In a unique application of commercial space flight, researchers have launched the cremated remains of 100 people up to space aboard a satellite that will orbit the Earth.

San Francisco-based firm Elysium Space offers their customers the opportunity to send ashes of dead people to travel in space. On Monday, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 that carried various payloads included the ashes of dead people.

Elysium Space put the cremated remains of 100 people in a four-inch memorial satellite called CubeSat to send ‘shooting star memorials’ into the sky, each of which memorial costs $2,490. “The Shooting Star Memorial is a service that delivers a symbolic portion of your loved one's remains to Earth's orbit, only to end this celestial journey as a shooting star.

Virgin Galactic CEO claims of sending people to space by Christmas

“This poetic tribute offers you the opportunity to have a permanent memorial that is with you each and every night, the starry sky above,” the company wrote on its website.

As per CNN, Elysium Space said that the ashes of military veterans and aerospace enthusiasts, along with those whose families were ‘looking to celebrate a loved one within the poetry of the starry sky’ will be sent to orbit.

Though the capsule won’t be visible from Earth, but families will be able to track the satellite for four years on their phones, after which the satellite will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, reported Futurism.

This is not the first time cremated remains are being sent to space. Back in 2012, startup called Celestis also sent the remains of 320 people to space, including ‘Star Trek’ actor James Doohan.

Moreover, apart from this, 64 satellites – 15 micro-satellites and 49 CubeSats – were launched simultaneously into space aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, setting a US record.