A company in California, USA, announced that they could send one of your items into space and back to Earth for just $99, starting in early 2008.
Of course, there are some limitations to this journey. The cargo must fit inside a small box the size of a soda can and weigh no more than 350 grams. It cannot be radioactive or explosive. If the item is a living creature, it must return alive as well.
“We will launch anything, as long as it is legal“, stated Michael Mealling from Masten Space Systems in Santa Clara, USA. This means that the ashes of a loved one or a child’s science project could also make a trip to space.
The CanSat container has been sent up in small rockets for many years as part of science and engineering projects in high schools. However, until now, these rockets have only reached the edge of space.
Masten Space Systems is developing a rocket that can carry about 300 CanSats at once. The XA rocket will launch vertically, reaching an altitude of at least 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, where the cargo can experience microgravity for several minutes before returning to the launch pad.
Masten plans to conduct its first commercial flight in the spring of 2008, with the first test flight scheduled for May 2006. If this 6.7-meter tall rocket does not launch by July 30, 2008, or if the cargo is left behind for safety reasons, Masten promises to compensate customers.
T. An
