7/15/03 A Texas-based company that offers "burials" in space could launch its first flights from a foreign site with missions next year from the former Soviet Union.

Celestis Inc. is preparing to announce a couple of launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to company president Chan Tysor. The firm gives customers a chance to launch a representative sample of cremated remains into orbit.

The company/s four earlier flights originated at Vandenberg Air Force Base, including one that exploded in September 2001.

The foreign launches, tentatively set for May and September 2004, would carry cremated human remains aboard Dnepr, a former intercontinental ballistic missile that is launched from a silo.

Why the former Soviet Union?

"Because we can," Tysor said. "Bear in mind, our market is all over the planet."

Prior to each launch, Celestis holds a memorial service for families. Tysor doesn/t know how many families would make the trek to Kazakhstan.

"We/ll do all the things we do at Vandenberg," said Tysor.

Tysor declined to confirm reports that the firm will launch cremains aboard a new rocket set to blast off from Vandenberg. Space Exploration Technologies hopes to debut its Falcon rocket later this year or early next year.

"It/s fair to say we/re talking to them, but we don/t have anything to announce," said Tysor. "That/s really all we can say."

Celestis saw its fourth flight end in failure in September 2001 when a Taurus rocket failed shortly after blasting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Families of most of the approximately 50 people whose cremains flew on that mission have asked for another flight, Tysor said. His firm receives two cremains samples, each about 7 grams and packed in a container the size of a lipstick tube in the event a mission doesn/t reach orbit and a re-flight is required.

Celestis began its space burial business by launching a set of cremain samples from the Canary Islands, though the mission originated at Vandenberg. Among those represented on the flight were Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and /60s pop guru Timothy Leary.

The firm/s missions so far have flown on Orbital Sciences Corp. vehicles, Pegasus and Taurus.

Lack of room on upcoming missions led Celestis to seek other launches.

"We/d love to fly with Orbital but they don/t have a flight for us," said Tysor.

Staff writer Janene Scully can be reached by e-mail at janscully@pulitzer.net