Family honors late Cape Cod man by sending his ashes into space

A late Cape Cod man's wish to travel to space is coming true.

David Lavender's family is planning to send his ashes up on a rocket.

It's part of Celestis, a space flight program that gives those mourning a loss a unique way to celebrate life.

"We celebrate everyone that is important to us, whether they're still on this earth or not," said Nick Johnson of Plaistow, New Hampshire.

Johnson has photos displayed on his Christmas tree of late family members, including that of Lavender, his stepfather, next to a Star Trek ornament of his — one of many things that the 38-year-old has to remember him.

"After 30 years, it still works," he said of the ornament.

Lavender was a career photojournalist from Cape Cod who loved a good thrill and to bring his children along for the ride.

"We were very, very close, and he just instilled those values of exploration, and just that wonder of whatever is out there beyond us," said Lavender's daughter, Melanie Sharrow, who lives in Austin, Texas.

Lavender's adventures suddenly ended at age 65 when he died by suicide in early 2021.

"[He] lost his battle to mental health," she said. "I'm bound by the pain that he felt on this planet."

Sharrow said wants to spread more awareness about suicide, especially with men, "because it's such a horrible thing that people deal with."

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.

With the support of Johnson and the rest of the family, Sharrow found a way to send him off on a trip of a lifetime, fulfilling a dream of going to space by sending a part of his ashes on a secondary payload of a spacecraft that will stay in orbit about a decade.

His loved ones will be able to track a satellite carrying his ashes as it flies by.

"We encapsulate those in what we call flight capsules, individual containers that have the person's name on it, and then we aggregate those flat capsules, and we put them on a rocket," said Celestis cofounder and CEO Charles Chafer.

Chafer started Celestis 30 years ago and says the company has sent people's ashes on 24 space flights.

"It gives you the closure that you did what your loved one wanted," Chafer added.

"I know he's already up there," said Sharrow of her late father. "I'm just putting his body up there too."

From stardust to ashes and back, Lavender's life comes full circle, in a way.

"We don't know when our last day on earth it's going to be," noted Johnson. "Or when we're going to be circling this earth, should you decide to make that trip."

The satellites launched will eventually burn when returning from orbit, said Chafer.

Lavender's ashes are set to launch with a rocket out of Cape Canaveral later this year.