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 it was slated to splash down in the Pacific Ocean. The elder Lau’s remains were then to be returned to his family.
But after orbiting Earth twice, the capsule carrying the ashes was lost when its parachutes failed to deploy on reentry.
In a statement, Celestis CEO Charles Chafer said: “The Perseverance Flight carrying the ashes and DNA of 166 participants successfully launched and reached orbit today, aboard The Exploration Company’s Nyx Mission Possible spacecraft. … However, we regret to share that an anomaly occurred during reentry, specifically, the parachute system failed, resulting in the Nyx capsule impacting the Pacific Ocean and dispersing its contents at sea. As a result of this unforeseen event, we believe that we will not be able to recover or return the flight capsules aboard. We share in the disappointment of our families, and we offer our sincerest gratitude for their trust.”
The company said it would reach out to the families involved to offer support in the coming days.
“It’s a bummer … but admittedly they take only a small part of the remains,” Griffin Lau said after getting word of the mishap.
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 Monday’s 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 elder Lau’s remains, enclosed in a flight capsule, were among 166 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 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.