Interring the Space Age

Turn on, tune in, blast off. The cremated remains of ‘60s icon Timothy Leary were among those rocketed into orbit Monday for the first commercial burial in outer space. The ashes of others aboard a rocket launched from the Canary Islands included those of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, space colony advocate Gerald O’Neill and Simi Valley real estate agent James Spellman, who was the nephew of the late Cardinal Francis Spellman of Los Angeles.

In all, remains of 24 men were carried on the “Founders Flight” sponsored by Celestis, a Houston-based company created in 1994 with the expressed purpose of offering what it calls “space memorials.”

The funds for Leary’s final trip were primarily contributed by his friends Susan Sarandon, the actress, and Tony Scott, director of “Top Gun” and other films, according to Carol Rosin, a space industries consultant. Rosin said she told Leary about Celestis a few weeks before he died in Beverly Hills on May 31, 1996.

“He loved the idea that he was going to take this flight,” said Rosin, who was on hand for the launch.

“He would say, ‘Ride the light into space.’ ”

More symbolic gesture than burial, the Celestis flights are designed to carry only about a quarter-ounce of ash from each person, encased in individual aluminum capsules about the size of lipstick tubes.

The capsules, attached to the second stage of the rocket, are predicted to remain in low-flying orbit for about two to six years, Celestis officials said, before the remains are re-cremated upon reentry into the atmosphere.

The consumer cost: $4,800 per person, with a money-back guarantee if something goes wrong during a launch.

For at least this first flight, it seems Celestis will be able to keep the money.

“It was a perfect launch, right on the path,” said Celestis founder Charles Chafer, from his hotel on Grand Canary Island a few hours after the launch, which took place at about 5 a.m. Los Angeles time.

“We had to prove to the world we could do this, and now we have.”

The Celestis project was piggybacked on a flight whose primary mission was the launch of Spain’s first scientific satellite, Minisat-01.

The launch was broadcast live in Spain, which owns the Canary Islands located off the coast of Morocco.

The Spanish media took great interest in the Celestis venture, Chafer said, although his many local interviews probably won’t result in much business.

“This is not a primary cremation country,” he said.

The rocket, built by the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., was launched from underneath an L-1011 jet, which took off from the island and reached a height of about 50,000 feet before the rocket engines were fired.

“There were cameras on board, so we could actually see much of the flight as it progressed,” Chafer said.

The Celestis payload was attached to the second stage of the rocket, which fell away and moved into orbit before Minisat’s final height was reached.

Rosin, formerly a vice president at defense contractor Fairfield Industries, said watching the flight, which was broadcast live on Spanish TV, was a profound experience.

“This opens the door to all people to go into space,” she said.

Of course, they first have to be dead.

“This is just the beginning,” Rosin said, “the first hint of what’s going to happen.”

Celestis officials say one of the first people to buy a memorial flight was Majel Roddenberry, widow of the “Star Trek” creator who died in 1991. It was actually a second ride into space for his ashes--as a tribute, a bit of remains was taken along on a 1992 NASA mission.

Also on board were the ashes of O’Neill and Krafft Ehricke. O’Neill’s books on space colonization influenced a generation of dreamers. Ehricke, a rocket propulsion engineer in his native Germany during World War II, came to the United States and helped develop the liquid hydrogen propellant used on space flights.

But most of those whose ashes are now circling Earth are not celebrities. They include a Seattle dock worker, the owner of a pasta restaurant in New York, a San Francisco graphic designer and an anti-freeze salesman from Chicago.

Their short biographies, posted on the Celestis World Wide Web site, make it clear that the only thing these pioneers in death shared in life was a fascination with space flight. For each, their families or friends chose a short inscription to be etched into their capsules.

“My Final Goal Is Achieved” for the owner of a home construction company who always wanted to be an astronaut. “Live Long and Prosper” for the graphic designer who was an avid “Star Trek” fan.

Only one of the epitaphs was whimsical. Engineer Wallace Mayer’s family tells the story in his bio of his grandchild passing around T-shirts a few days after Mayer’s death. On the shirts he had printed: “Grandpa went to outer space and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”

Mayer’s inscription reads, “Don’t forget the tee shirts, Grandpa.”

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Final Voyage

The first commercial burial in outer space was launched Monday aboard a rocket that held cremated remains of Timothy Leary and “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, among others. The encapsulated ashes will remain in orbit for two to six years before plunging back to Earth and incinerating upon reentry.

1. Drop Launch

Pegasus rocket is released from its mount on the L-1011 aircraft.

Altitude: 50,000 feet

Speed: 770 feet per second

2. First Stage

Pegasus escapes Earth’s atmosphere as the internal guidance system orients it upward at a 45-degree angle.

Altitude: 207,140 feet

Speed: 8,269 feet per second

3. Second Stage

Explosive bolts fire, separating the protective cover from the second stage.

Altitude: 288,600 feet

Speed: 7,799 feet per second

4. Third Stage

Less than 10 minutes after launch the satellite and ash capsules are in orbit.

Altitude: 398 nautical miles

Speed: 14,864 feet per second

5. Orbiting: two to six years

After using up its fuel, the satellite will gradually lose altitude, eventually dropping out of orbit. Its high-speed reentry into Earth’s atmosphere will incinerate the exposed capsules.

Inside Pegasus

Capsules: Miniature urns containing ashes

Enclosure: Capsules are held in place on side of satellite

Fairing: Protective covering is discarded during second stage ignition

The Ash Capsule

Placement Holes: Torque wrench tightened cap

O-Ring: Internally threaded neck of capsule is sealed with an O-ring

Metal Casing: Aluminum alloy T6; destroyed upon reeentry into atmosphere

Contents: Each capsule holds .25 oz. of ash. An average of 5 lbs. of ash is normally produced by cremation.

Sources: Celestis, Orbital Sciences Corp; Researched by REBECCA PERRY and DAVID COLKER / Los Angeles Times