Gene Roddenberry, wife to spend eternity in space

[mjessick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_en_ot/people_roddenberry

"The Roddenberrys' remains — and the spacecraft — will travel ever deeper into space and will not return to earth, company spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld said."

Have there been non-governmental hyperbolic launches before? (Or sadly garbled by the company/reportage?)

 

[tblaxland]

Have there been non-governmental hyperbolic launches before? (Or sadly garbled by the company/reportage?)

As far as I can determine from their website, they are indeed planning on these ashes being sent into deep space. I don't know whether it will be a "non-governmental" launch - Celestis normally piggyback along with someone else's payload. For example, their Luna 01 flight was attached to the Lunar Prospector probe and I have trouble classifying that as a private flight to the Moon. I can't find what launch they expect to be attached to in 2012, though.

 

[Zatnikitelman]

If it's bound for deep space, then I'd guess at least Delta II and those are tossed around like red tape in Washington!
Though I'd really like to see it piggyback on a Delta IV Heavy or a Falcon 9/Falcon 9 Heavy.

 

[tblaxland]

If it's bound for deep space, then I'd guess at least Delta II and those are tossed around like red tape in Washington!
Though I'd really like to see it piggyback on a Delta IV Heavy or a Falcon 9/Falcon 9 Heavy.

The closest launch I could find to 2012 heading in the right general direction is Juno - that's on an Atlas V 551 scheduled for launch in August 2011.