Pennsylvania family to send loved one's ashes on memorial flight to space: "I couldn't let his story end"
There are all kinds of ways to honor and celebrate the dead. A growing number of families are turning to outer space and sending the remains of loved ones on memorial space flights.
It's a way to cope with grief.
With it being Mental Health Awareness Month, a Chester County family said the send-off has softened the heartbreak of losing their teenage son in a tragic accident.
Aymee Comas-Diaz had an urn specifically made for her late son, Philip Alexander Diaz.
"It says, 'In loving memory of Philip Alexander Diaz, forever in our hearts,'" Aymee Comas-Diaz said.
Philip Alexander Diaz was a globe-trotting teenager who loved traveling, and now some of his ashes will soon be circling the earth.
"What better way for Phillip to see the world than to get this particular space mission?" Aymee Comas-Diaz said.
Philip Alexander Diaz's ashes will be on an unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying different payloads, including one from a company called Celestis that sends remains in special containers.
"Philip's gonna be on our Serenity flight, which goes to Earth orbit later this year from Kennedy Space Center," Charles Chafer, the CEO of Celestis, said.
Chafer said over the years, they've sent the remains of about 2,000 people into space.
"We don't eliminate grief, but we give people closure," Chafer said. "We give people something to smile about at the end of a difficult process."
Philip Alexander Diaz was 16 when he died after falling off a balcony during a family vacation on Thanksgiving 2023.
"I couldn't let his story end," Aymee Comas-Diaz said. "Phillip was so creative. He had all these plans for the future, all these plans for places he wanted to see."
On the upcoming spaceflight that costs about $5,000, Phillip Comas-Diaz's ashes will be in orbit for about five years, with the family being able to track its location.
"When it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, it creates such an intense amount of friction that the entire spacecraft burns up, so it's an ashes to ashes service," Chafer said.
Aymee Comas-Diaz said the family will be in Florida, along with the loved ones of others on the flight, for a special service before the blast off.
"They get to see the biggest candle on the planet lighted for their loved ones," Chafer said. "You immediately see before your eyes the transition from grief to joy and exaltation."
The family is relieved his final resting place will be an adventure out of this world.
The memorial space flights have different destinations, including sending remains to the moon.
Philip Alexander Diaz's family has started a foundation in his name to spread a message of kindness.
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