Ashes of Waterloo, Ont. entrepreneur to be launched into space aboard historic mission
CTV
The ashes of a Waterloo, Ont. man will join the DNA of some famous historical figures on a first-of-its-kind mission into space.
The ashes of a Waterloo man will join the DNA of some famous historical figures on a first-of-its-kind mission into space.
The remains of entrepreneur Udo Peterson will be aboard the ULA Vulcan rocket that will launch into space on Jan. 8.
The mission is being carried about by Celestis, a memorial spaceflight company.
“This will be the first time in our civilization’s history that we will send DNA out into space,” said president Colby Youngblood. “It's going be 330 million kilometres out into what's called a heliocentric orbit around the sun.”
The rocket will have the DNA and ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek star Nichelle Nichols, as well as three former U.S. presidents: George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy.
Peterson emigrated from Germany to Canada in 1967.