Launching the ashes

The range of choices for how you can give your loved one a final send of has just taken giant step leap, okay I am paraphrasing from the space mission, but here we have something unique to the British market Stardust Ashes www.StardustAshes.com . They use a full sized top of the range meteorological balloon filled with helium which carries the specially engineered urn up 20 miles where it scatters the ashes in the stratosphere.

Chester Mojay-Sinclaire the man behind the  got the inspiration from a project last year where he launched a potato dressed as Father Christmas into the stratosphere using the specialist balloon. It reached 90,000ft before the balloon burst and the shuttle floated back down to earth on a parachute taking the pictures you see below.

Then when his Gran passed away at the start of the year they thought and it was amazing to watch her swoop off into the clouds and they knew she thought so too.

He said: ‘Gran saw the paper cuttings from the time I sent an organic potato into space.

‘A family member mentioned it off the cuff that you could send ashes into space and my Gran said it would be a great idea.

The launch took place earlier this month from Winterton-on-Sea, near Great Yarmouth in Norfolk East Anglia.

Chester chose the spot for its picturesque landscape and safe landing trajectory for the balloon, which drifted out into the North Sea.

The ashes dissipated into the atmosphere while the biodegradable urn floated back down to earth and dissolved at sea.

The price tag for those who think they would like to exit in the same fashion – £3,000. What a way to go!

View from urn