Well, this is awkward.
Explosive Situation
A small rocket exploded seconds after launch earlier this week, failing spectacularly over the New Mexico desert.
Unfortunately, its cargo was somber: it carried the cremated remains of a late NASA astronaut and chemist into the upper atmosphere on behalf of space memorial service Celestis, Gizmodo reports — but instead sent them raining down over a wide swathe of desert.
It’s an awkward development for a company that is trying to establish an entirely new kind of way of honoring the dead. Beyond the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere, Celestis is hoping to eventually send the cremated remains of its customers all the way to the Moon — that is, if it can avoid mishaps like the one this week.
Failure to Launch
Celestis teamed up with Colorado-based rocket startup UP Aerospace for the launch. But mere seconds into the launch, according to local news, the startup’s 20-foot SpaceLoft XL rocket blew up.
The rocket was carrying the remains of Philip Chapman, a NASA astronaut who served as the mission scientist of the space agency’s 1971 Apollo 14 mission to the Moon, as well as the remains of chemist Louise Ann O’Deen.
Apart from the remains, the rocket was also packed with 13 payloads from NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge, which were put together by middle and high school students.
One More Shot
Following the failed launch, Celestis is rushing to make things right.
“Regarding today’s launch,” Celestis wrote in a Twitter statement. “We are reviewing the details and the video with UP Aerospace. As soon as we have clearance from them about the details and the video itself, we will share all of that information with families via email.”
Fortunately, Celestis only carries a “symbolic portion of cremated remains or DNA sample,” meaning that plenty of the remains still exist.
“All participants aboard Aurora will be offered a complimentary reflight, per their contract with us, on our next Earth Rise mission, named Perseverance Flight,” Celestis promised on its Facebook page.
Meanwhile, Celestis is hoping to get another shot soon.
“We have full confidence that UP Aerospace will find and fix the problem and we look forward to flying again with them when they are ready,” Celestis CEO Charles Chafer told Gizmodo.
More on space cremation: Parents Crowdfund to Send 11-Year-Old Son’s Ashes to the Moon