During a 1992 flight of the space shuttle, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry became the first and only person whose remains have orbited Earth. Now, anyone who's ever wanted to be an astronaut can make it into low-Earth flight, at least after she or he dies: For a fee of US$4,800, Houston-based Celestis Inc. offers burials in the Great Beyond.
On Celestis' first mission this month, a few symbolic grams of the ashes of Roddenberry, space colony designer Gerard O'Neill, Timothy Leary, and a handful of other out-there pioneers are scheduled to hitch a ride into space on a Pegasus rocket. The ashes should remain in orbit for about two years, until they burn up in a flash of light when the booster re-enters Earth's atmosphere.
