This week on WHITEBALLOON INSIGHTS we loved hearing from Samantha Richardson of Aura Flights about their unique and innovative service, fulfilling people’s wishes to be scattered in space.
Q: We would love to hear about the history of Aura Flights and how this very unique and special service evolved?
The idea for Aura Flights came about in 2014 after the company founders experienced the death of a relative who had a fondness for space and astronomy. Making this bold idea a reality though was a much more involved affair: taking two years of research and development to create a spacecraft – and a safe, repeatable and predictable process – that could not only scatter ashes in space but do so sustainably. We’ve come a long way since then and, as of 2024, we’ve conducted over 300 memorial launches and have over 1000 individuals that have chosen a space scattering as part of their end-of-life plans.
Q: This feels like a spectacular last journey for someone who loves space or who wants a dramatic way to go! What sort of people do you find choose to send their ashes into space?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, space scattering has become a popular way to memorialise individuals with a passion for either the cosmos, space travel or science fiction. However, an increasing number of families are discovering that it can also provide a fitting tribute to both those with a particularly adventurous spirit and loved ones that have always found solace in the concept of ‘infinity’. Additionally, we’ve noticed that the appeal of space scattering is growing among those lacking a particularly sacred or meaningful memorial site here on Earth, with the boundless nature of space offering a sense of transcendence that a traditional burial or scattering of ashes may not.
Q: How does space scattering work? And how do you help family and friends to preserve the memory of their loved one after the flight?
The voyage begins by storing the passenger’s ashes in a scatter vessel designed to securely contain the precious payload throughout its final journey. It’s then attached to an enormous stratospheric balloon filled with lighter-than-air hydrogen gas to give it the lift needed to travel through the atmosphere and into space. Once at a serene height of 120,000 feet above the Earth’s surface, the vessel will open to release the ashes into space in a gentle cascade, with dedicated cameras forever memorialising the moment in 4k resolution for family and friends. As soon as the passenger’s ashes are released, they will join stratospheric winds, gently transporting them on an incredible final journey around the planet. Over the next three to six months, they will traverse the globe many times over, gradually spreading out until their presence covers the entire world. Little by little, the ashes will then descend into the lower portions of the atmosphere where each particle will act as a nucleation point for precipitation, allowing passengers to reach their final resting place as raindrops and snowflakes.
Q: People are increasingly conscious of their ecological footprint, both in life and in death. What steps do you take to ensure that you are offering an environmentally friendly service?
At Aura Flights, we pride ourselves on the sustainability of our launch process, employing an ethos of leaving the Earth and our atmosphere exactly how we found it. In practice, this means using recyclable, renewable, reusable or biodegradable consumables wherever possible. Our balloon-powered launches are fuelled solely by the ability of hydrogen gas to float above the surrounding atmosphere, and the gas we use is generated via a sustainable electrolysis process – creating only oxygen as a byproduct. As well as hydrogen being the most abundant element in the universe and posing no environmental risk, our balloons are made of undyed biodegradable latex that decomposes at a rate comparable to that of an oak leaf. Additionally, all of our equipment is recovered by the team after every launch, with nothing left behind.
Q: How do you see your Aura Flights developing in the coming years? Do you intend to offer ashes into space from other locations too?
Despite initially launching flights exclusively from the UK, we’ve recently extended our services to offer ash scattering in the US and are also looking at ways to expand the reach of our services further. However, for those based outside of the UK and US, it’s worth noting that we regularly welcome many international customers who fly over to the UK with their loved one’s ashes, allowing them to meet the Aura Flights team, learn about the process in person, and ultimately hand over their loved ones for a UK-based scattering.
Q: In the early days, you appeared on Dragon’s Den! That must have been quite an experience?
It was certainly an unforgettable encounter staring down the barrel of the five infamous dragons, as well as being a privilege to have received an offer from the inimitable Deborah Meaden. Ultimately though, we chose to decline her proposal in favour of developing our unique services in a way that we knew our passengers and their families deserved. Since then we’ve gone from success to success, conducting hundreds of space scatterings, earning a perfect 5-star record on Trustpilot, and securing representation in over a thousand UK funeral homes.
Q: And finally, you obviously have a passion for space. Who or what in the history of space travel or exploration has inspired you most?
Although our list of inspirations would likely extend into triple digits by this point – including everything from the launch of Sputnik to the historic moon landings and beyond – perhaps the most poignant example would be the Voyager missions, delivering human time capsules into interstellar space where no man-made object has ever gone before.
Thank you Samantha for sharing these insights.
To find out more about this wonderful service, please go to the Aura Flights website.