In memory of their father Curtis “Curt” Carson Lau, 70, who was a space enthusiast, Griffin Lau, 28, a Logan Square resident, along with his brother sent a portion of their late father’s ashes on a star-bound rocket that took off Monday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The Perseverance flight, part of Celestis’ memorial spaceflight services, lifted off Monday afternoon for a nearly three-hour ride into orbit before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. The elder Lau’s remains were then to be returned to his family. The voyage was conducted in partnership with The Exploration Company using a Falcon 9 rocket.
“It’s obviously a unique thing we are able to do … this was a wish for my father, so I also appreciate the ability to share his story and memorialize him,” Griffin Lau told the Sun-Times ahead of the launch.
Their father passed away in July last year, and the family was looking for a unique way to honor him, Griffin Lau said.
Curtis Lau was a career pharmacist and a Wisconsin-native who often traveled to watch rocket launches at Kennedy Space Center. Space flights are a unique way for people to chose to honor their late loved ones, especially those with an interest spaceflight.
The remains, enclosed in a flight capsule, are among 166 others on the same payload on the 12th Celestis Earth Rise mission. The cost of the trip using an unmanned low-Earth-orbit mission that returns back to Earth is $3,495, the company said.
The company has launched crematory remains and DNA samples of its clients into space since 1997.
According to Celestis CEO and co-founder Charles M Chafer, the business has been growing steadily over the last five years, and he sees this as a reflection of increased commercial spaceflight and people turning to innovative ways to honor their late loved ones.
“It’s fulfilling to watch people who’ve lost someone and who are still grieving and see that grief transition into joy and high-fives as they fulfill their loved one’s wishes,” Chafer told the Sun-Times.