Articles tagged with "space"
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
spaceCubeSatsatelliteorbital-launchSpaceXspace-memorialsspace-technologyThis startup will send 1,000 people’s ashes to space — affordably — in 2027
Space Beyond, a startup founded by Ryan Mitchell—a former NASA and Blue Origin engineer—is launching an affordable "Ashes to Space" program scheduled for October 2027. The company plans to send up to 1,000 people’s cremated ashes into orbit aboard a CubeSat integrated on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission. Unlike existing memorial spaceflight services that typically cost thousands, Space Beyond’s entry-level offering starts at $249, made possible by leveraging the cost efficiencies of rideshare launches and a lean, bootstrapped business model focused on accessibility rather than high profits. Due to weight constraints inherent in CubeSat launches, customers can only send about one gram of ashes each, allowing the company to accommodate many individuals per mission. The CubeSat will orbit in a sun-synchronous orbit approximately 550 kilometers above Earth for about five years before re-entering the atmosphere and burning up, symbolically ending the memorial. Customers will be able to track the satellite as it passes over their location
spaceCubeSatsatelliteaerospacespace-technologySpaceXsatellite-launchRobot Talk Episode 117 – Robots in orbit, with Jeremy Hadall
robotsspaceroboticstechnologyaerospacepodcastJeremy-Hadall