Space burial

Space burial is a burial procedure where a small sample of the cremated ashes of the deceased in a lipstick sized capsule are launched into space using a rocket. As of 2004, samples of about 150 people have been "buried" in space.

History

The practice of space burials is a very recent practice due to the technical difficulties involved in launching an object into space. The very first space burial Earthview 01: The Founders Flight was launched on April 21, 1997. An aircraft carried a modified Pegasus rocket containing samples of the remains of 24 people to an altitude of 11km (38,000 feet) above the Canary Islands. The rocket then carried the remains on a elliptical orbit with an apogee of 578 km (361 miles) and a perigee of 551 km (344 miles), rotating around earth once every 96 minutes until reentry on May 20, 2002, northeast of Australia. Famous people buried on this flight were Gene Roddenberry and Timothy Leary.

Related Topics:
April 21 - 1997 - Pegasus rocket - Canary Islands - Apogee - Perigee - Rotating around earth - May 20 - 2002 - Australia - Gene Roddenberry - Timothy Leary

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The second space burial was the burial of a sample of the remains of Dr. Eugene Shoemaker on the moon by the Lunar Prospector probe, launched on January 7th 1998 by a three-stage Athena rocket. The probe containing scientific instruments and the ashes of Dr. Shoemaker impacted the moon near the lunar south pole on 4:52 a.m. Central Daylight Time, July 31, 1999.

Related Topics:
Eugene Shoemaker - Lunar Prospector - January 7th - 1998 - Athena - July 31 - 1999

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The list of space burials to date:

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• April 21, 1997: 24 remains samples launched into earth orbit on a modified Pegasus rocket
• January 7th 1998: Sample of the remains of Eugene Shoemaker as secondary payload on a three-stage Athena rocket to the moon
• February 10, 1998: 30 remains samples as a secondary payload launched into earth orbit on a Taurus missile
• December 20, 1999: 36 remains samples as a secondary payload launched into earth orbit on a Taurus missile
• September 21, 2001: 43 remains samples as a secondary payload launched into earth orbit on a Taurus missile