Celestis 03

Launch data:

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• Celestis 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 (Orion-38) of Pegasus-XL or Taurus launch vehicles.
• The containers contain small aluminum capsule about the size of a lipstick, containing symbolic 7 g of cremated remains. Several flights have been made. Among the first persons, whos ashes were send into space were the late "Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry, 60ies icon Timothy Leary and space colony advocate Gerald O'Neill.

Mission details:

• The successful launch of The Ad Astra Flight -- the second satellite of the Celestis Earthview Service -- occurred on February 10, 1998 at 5:21 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Over two dozen participants were on board this launch. Read their stories.
• Family members and other partners received an invitation to the launch. They also attended a tour of the launch site and viewed the Taurus vehicle on the pad. A memorial service was conducted for family members in nearby Lompoc, California.
• The launch occurred from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California aboard a Taurus rocket provided by Orbital Sciences Corporation. The Celestis spacecraft was attached to the final stage of the Taurus. The vehicle's primary payloads were Geosat Follow On (GFO) -- a Navy satellite -- and two Orbcomm communication satellites.
• The rocket placed the Celestis Earthview 02 spacecraft into a near polar orbit with the following parameters: