PLANO, Texas — Terri Howard-Hughes and her husband, Clint, of Plano have been on a mission to fulfill Terri's mother's wishes to have her remains sent to deep space.
It was a wish made possible on Jan. 8 at Cape Canaveral. Angela Burke's ashes were sent by a Vulcan rocket through a company called Celestis, which specializes in memorial spaceflights.
"My mother learned very early that things are not important, it's people," said Howard-Hughes.
Burke, born in Austria and arrived in the country by way of Ellis Island, was described as kind, compassionate and highly intelligent, with a penchant for mischief. She got her Masters and Doctorate in philosophy and taught and ran a psychology clinic at a university. She died more than a year-and-a-half ago but not without telling her loved ones of her biggest wish.
"Before my mom died she said, 'I wanna go to space. I wanna go to deep space.' I'm like, 'OK?' Howard-Hughes said, puzzled.
Burke and her husband of 43 years were no strangers to adventure. Clint says his mother-in-law had such an adventurous spirit and making this wish possible was a true joy.
Celestis is a Texas-based company first formed in 1994 and has been routinely doing space memorial missions over that time.
"Gift yourself or those you love with the peace of mind that comes with planning your Space Memorial experience ahead of time. Then, every time your loved ones look to the evening skies, they will feel reverence and awe of knowing your memory will always be shining on them from above," reads a description on the company's website."
Burke's ashes were placed into modules set for deep space. She, along with more than 300 other's remains, were sent to where few have gone before.
"They also had hair follicles of [Presidents] Washington, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan," said Clint.
Along with the presidents, Burke was on the same flight as Star Trek cast members and creator Gene Roddenberry.
"They are going to have debates and interesting conversations for eternity," said Clint, laughing.
The launch, which was delayed three separate times through last year, finally happened on Jan. 8.
"It really is almost a religious experience," Clint said describing the rocket propel upwards and the ball of fire. "We wanted to experience it, and it was once in a lifetime," he said.
With the help of the Vulcan Centaur rocket, one capsule was destined for the moon and another capsule was sent to deep space. They say the capsule holding Angela's ashes will orbit the sun for eternity. The family tells WFAA the space memorial cost more than $12,000 but say there are other far less expensive packages. The Celestis website showcases packages that have multiple destinations, including the Moon, deep space and the Earth's orbit.
"It makes me happy to know that she's up there literally watching over me, literally," said Howard-Hughes.