Space Burial: Elysium Space Now Accepts Reservations for Memorial Spaceflights for $1,990 [VIDEO]
With man's never-ending fascination with travelling into outer space, one company has found an interesting albeit morbid way to make space travel possible for less than $2,000. New start-up company Elysium Space is currently accepting orders to send a person's cremated remains or ashes into orbit. Dubbed by the company as a "memorial spaceflight", the first space burial will be launched from Cape Canaveral in the U.S. state of Florida.
Elysium Space is open for reservations for next summer's schedule of memorial spaceflight. As seen on the company Web site, Elysium Space offers "awe-inspiring celestial service to honor and celebrate the life of someone you love."
How the memorial spaceflight works
Elysium Space explained that the encapsulated and cremated remains will be stored in a spacecraft which will be launched into the Earth's orbit. Elysium's spacecraft will remain in orbit for several months.
Family members and friends of the dearly departed can follow the orbital flight of the spacecraft using a special mobile application. Those who will have access to the application will be able to find and follow the current location of the spacecraft. After several months, Elysium's spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere like a bright star falling from the sky.
Elysium Space was founded by an ex-NASA engineer Thomas Civeit who also has gained contracts with companies offering space flight services. Mr. Civeit said that space burials will be appreciated by people who think space is a wonderful and unique place.
Elysium Space is not the only company that offers space burials. Celestis is another space travel company that already offers a similar space memorial service, but for a higher price of $5,000. Celestis also offers a space flight for only $995. However, the spacecraft will only go up to where there is zero-gravity before returning back to the ground.
One notable memorial spaceflight of Celestis was for the cremated remains of Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek creator and another one for Star Trek actor, James "Scotty" Doohan.
According to the data from the U.S. National Funeral Directors, the $1,990 fee charged by Elysium Space for a space burial is cheaper than the average and traditional funeral which costs $6,000.
