The ashes of a NASA astronaut who was never able to accomplish his dream of traveling into space are set to fulfill his dream.
Philip Chapman, an Australian-born astronaut who died in April 2021 at the age of 86, is due to be sent into space on April 28 after an earlier flight was delayed, the Albuquerque Journal reported. The launch will be carried out by Celestis Inc., a memorial spaceflight service, in an Earth Rise Service. His remains will be among 120 others who will be flown into space for a 30-minute flight.
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“We are honored that Dr. Chapman’s family selected us and are looking forward to getting him into space for the first time,” Celestis cofounder and CEO Charles Chafer said. “His legacy as a scientist, astronaut, and business leader is reflected in his family’s choice to honor him with a journey among the stars.”
Chapman was selected in 1967 to be a member of Astronaut Group 6 for Apollo 14, becoming the first Australian-American astronaut, according to NASA. His role was ground-based, but he longed to travel to space. He was set to accomplish his dream when he joined and trained with the Skylab B space station project.
However, the project was canceled due to a lack of funding. His widow, Maria Tseng, told the Phoenix Times that he was “very, very extremely alarmed” by the cancellation of the program and saw it as a divergence of NASA’s mission.
His family provided the outlet with an internal memo he sent in 1970, amid the cancellation of the project, where he raved against NASA’s leadership and lack of a coherent vision. He even provided a list of “indictments” against the agency.
He resigned from NASA in 1972.
The idea to fly him into space is that of Tseng, who expressed doubt that he would have even approved of the idea.
“Phil and I were not traditional people, and I didn’t want a traditional funeral,” she said in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, adding that she plans to watch the flight on a webcast.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t think Phil would have liked the idea,” Tseng continued. “He was a scientist to whom the search for truth and reality was very important, and this is purely symbolic. He wouldn’t want to do it. But he’s not here to argue with me, and I wanted to do it because — look at Phil’s life — he was into exploration.”
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Though his April 28 journey will be brief, the Phoenix Times reported that there are plans to send his remains into space again — where they will remain for eternity. His ashes will reportedly be flown into an orbit around the sun as part of the Enterprise Flight. Several mementos from his life and special messages from his loved ones, engraved on radiation-proof metal chips, will accompany him.
“To me, that is very meaningful,” Tseng said. “He will orbit the sun for as long as the sun lives.”
