On this day in space: April 21, 1997: 1st Space Funeral Launches on 'Founders Flight'

News
By last updated

On April 21, 1997, the cremated remains of 24 people were launched into space in the first-ever space funeral. One of those people was Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek."

On April 21, 1997, the cremated remains of 24 people were launched into space in the first-ever space funeral. One of those people was Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek."

Russia's Saylut 1, the world's first space station, is seen during preparations for its April 19, 1971 launch in this undated photo from the Russian space agency Roscosmos. (Image credit: Celestis)

These people's remains were sent to space via a company called Celestis, which charges thousands of dollars for these "memorial spaceflights." It only launches small samples of the cremated remains, because launching all of it would be way more expensive.

The company's first mission was named the Founders Flight, and it was air-launched on a Pegasus rocket. The capsule containing the remains orbited Earth for about 5 years before burning up in the atmosphere.

On This Day in Space: See our full 365-day video archive!

Hanneke Weitering
Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos. 

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.