CubeSat mission for 1,000 memorials targets low cost access to orbit

The article discusses Ryan Mitchell, a former NASA and Blue Origin engineer, who founded the startup Space Beyond to offer affordable space memorials by sending small vials of cremated ashes into orbit. Motivated by the inability to track ashes scattered at sea, Mitchell envisioned leveraging recent reductions in launch costs and satellite tracking technology to provide a new way to memorialize loved ones in space. Space Beyond plans to launch its first mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare in October 2027, carrying ashes from up to 1,000 individuals in a single CubeSat, with prices starting as low as $249 per client—significantly cheaper than existing services that typically start around $3,000. Mitchell’s vision is rooted in democratizing access to space, inspired by his experience at Blue Origin and the broader trend of opening space travel beyond elite astronauts to a wider public. While initially considering suborbital flights, he chose an orbital mission for greater longevity of the memorials. By limiting