A German aerospace startup, The Exploration Company, sent its first customer payloads to space as part of a rideshare mission using a Falcon-9 rocket. The payload included the ashes and DNA of 166 deceased people provided by Celestis, a Texas-based memorial spaceflight company. However, the mission ended in failure after the landing parachutes failed to deploy during re-entry, resulting in the Nyx capsule crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
According to The Exploration Company’s statement on LinkedIn, the flight achieved orbit and powered the payloads nominally, but lost communication with the capsule a few minutes before splashdown. An investigation is underway to determine the root cause of the failure.
This incident marks the second time Celestis has experienced payload loss, following a rocket explosion in New Mexico in 2023 that carried the cremated remains of NASA astronaut Philip K. Chapman. The company offered condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones, stating they would reach out individually to offer support and discuss next steps.
The Nyx capsule also carried cannabis plant matter and seeds as part of an open-source citizen science project aimed at studying microgravity’s effect on germination and resilience. Future iterations of the capsule are planned to fly spacecraft to destinations in Low Earth Orbit, including the International Space Station.
The company plans to conduct a demonstration flight to the ISS in 2028 with support from the European Space Agency, pending agreement. In the meantime, The Exploration Company will incorporate lessons learned from this mission and move forward with development.
Source: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/a-spacecraft-carrying-human-remains-and-cannabis-crashes-into-the-ocean