A deceased Canadian woman from Vancouver is getting a unique send-off or space funeral that only a Trekkie (Star Trek fan) could dream of.
Gloria Rosalind Knowlan was born in Washington and raised in Vancouver. She worked at a Boeing factory in Richmond during World War II and became an avid Star Trek fan before her husband passed away. Knowlan passed away in 2011.
Celestis, the organization that puts on these “memorial spaceflights,” says that Knowlan was so into Star Trek she even visited conventions, collected posters and cards, and had show-themed ornaments on her Christmas tree.
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Celestis Inc.
Knowlan’s launch date from Cape Canaveral is January 8. It’ll mark the 20th memorial spaceflight and the first Voyager service, aptly named the Enterprise flight.
The Canadian won’t be alone on her space funeral journey. The Voyager mission will include the DNA, mindfiles, and cremated remains of over 200 people. Others honoured on the flight include Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and other original cast and crew members from the series, like James Doohan.
It’s an expensive way to honour a loved one; however, it’s not so much compared to the average funeral cost in Canada.
Voyager service starts at $12,995 and will send the cremated remains or DNA on a “permanent celestial journey, well beyond the moon.”
“Although Gloria hadn’t chosen the Celestis flight, we (her children) are confident that she would have been thrilled to know this journey, to boldly go where no woman has gone before, was ahead of her.”
The next Voyager flight is scheduled for the first quarter of 2025.
Would you ever consider having a space funeral? Let us know in the comments.
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