BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — SpaceX will launch another ride-share mission Wednesday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Part of the flight is Celestis' "The Ascension Flight", launching remains or DNA of those who died. One hundred sixty guests are in town to memorialize 47 family members being honored with a final ride to space.

Melissa Teston and her family are from Tampa. Her brother Derek was born with a rare genetic condition in his adrenal glands. He passed away at age 46 in 2019. Melissa says he always wanted to be an astronaut — a dream cut short by his health.

"And he couldn't really do that in this world, so this opportunity for him to fly tomorrow," says Melissa. "It's been a big gear up, we are trying to wrap our brains about how we are going to feel tomorrow."

Derek grew up watching shuttle and rocket launches from the Cape and built model rockets. Melissa says he would quiz his nieces and nephew about physics and space. "Because it wasn't just enough to launch," she tells us. "Knowing that he will be part of something big and a big mission is important to us."

A portion of Derek's remains and the others being honored will circle Earth in a small cube satellite for the next decade. The families can track the spacecraft as it orbits the planet every 90 minutes.

Derek's family got to meet with former NASA astronaut Don Thomas, who was fortunate to fly to space in his lifetime. Now Derek will get to make the journey himself. Melissa says they've created a playlist of his favorite heavy metal songs she will listen to during the launch.

"All of that will be playing in my ear as I'm feeling and experiencing," Melissa says. "And I can just hear him saying, 'Mel, this is so cool'."

This mission will be Celestis' 10th Memorial Spaceflight Service. The SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter launch is scheduled for Wednesday May 25, at 2:35 p.m. from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.​