Space Beyond lines up 2027 SpaceX launch for low-cost memorial cubesat

TAMPA, Fla. — Florida-based Space Beyond plans to start building its first memorial spacecraft next week after booking a launch on SpaceX’s October 2027 rideshare mission.

Ryan Mitchell, a former Blue Origin engineer who founded Space Beyond last year, said the startup is in final design review for a brick-sized cubesat designed to carry around 1,000 symbolic portions of human or pet remains sealed in Kapton film.

The venture has signed an agreement to use Arrow Science & Technology’s XTERRA XCD deployer to place the spacecraft into sun-synchronous orbit, where it would remain for around five years before reentering Earth’s atmosphere.

Mitchell said Space Beyond is self-funding its debut mission, following a Kickstarter campaign last year that reached less than 9% of a $124,300 target to cover direct costs.

“Along the way, we’ve also started selling directly to clients,” Mitchell told SpaceNews.

“Sales to date cover about 20% of the cost for the first mission, and are expected to rise as we gain exposure and the public comes to know us better.”

Aiming to broaden access to memorial spaceflights and expand the market, Space Beyond’s prices start at $249.

Meanwhile, premium packages from established provider Celestis start at $3,495 for suborbital flights that return capsules as keepsakes, rising to $12,995 for missions to the moon and beyond.

“It is extremely challenging to launch anything to space at such a low price,” Mitchell said. “But, at the end of the day, it’s just an engineering challenge to solve, and that’s where we shine.”

Mitchell now expects the direct cost of Space Beyond’s inaugural mission to be around $100,000, with the cubesat’s latest design targeting a five-year orbital lifetime, rather than up to 25 years.

“We’re setting the expected mission duration at five years to be responsible stewards of the space in orbit,” he added. 

“We’re providing a sufficiently long mission to make it meaningful to our clients and families, while also ensuring that no long-term debris or hazards remain in orbit. Space is huge, but it is also finite. We’re doing the right thing.”