Celestis 11

Spacecraft nr:

US spacecraft nr:

Launch data: Designation  38349 / 12027B Launch date  22 May 2012 - 07:44 UT Launch site  CC, SLC-40 Launch vehicle  Falcon-9 (v1.0) Mission  Space burial Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  268 x 333 km Eccentricity   Inclination  51.7 deg Period  90.2 min

Description:

• Celestis, now renamed Space Services Inc. (SSI), is the first company to offer space burials. The Celestis payloads are small containers (CPAC, Celestis Payload Attached Container), which are bolted to the last stage of the launch vehicle, in this case a Falcon-9 v1.0. The containers were mounted inside the avionics compartment.
• The containers contain small aluminum capsule about the size of a lipstick, containing symbolic 7 g of cremated remains.
• Falcon 9 2nd stage carries a symbolic portion of the cremated remains of 320 people for Celestis, Inc
• Celstis 11 is a reflight of the ashes flown on Celestis 07, which failed to reach orbit due to a launch vehicle first stage malfunction.

Mission details:

• At 0744:38 UTC on May 22, 2012 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 vehicle from Cape Canaveral carrying the Dragon COTS 2+ DEMO mission. The Dragon C2+ spacecraft was placed in a 297 x 346 km x 51.6 deg orbit.
• A Celestis space burial capsule (with cremated human remains) is attached to the Falcon 9 second stage, in a 268 x 333 km x 51.7 deg orbit.