Spaceflight firm Celestis regroups after Star Trek celeb ashes lost
It’s official. Peregrine, the lunar lander made by Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, will not be landing on the moon, thanks to a propellant leak that dramatically altered its course.
Peregrine’s manifest included 70 capsules filled with cremated remains or DNA, sent to space by Houston-based Celestis, a memorial spaceflight company that sells to loved ones of the deceased the packaging and transport of remains to space.
The Celestis mission was high profile because it included the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, among others.
The Peregrine lander left Earth on Jan. 8 traveling as payload in United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur. If successful, it’s first mission would have put an American spacecraft on the moon for the first time in 50 years.
