i know this isnt strictly an arduino project but i know you guys are really creative
how would you do it
This qualifies as one of the stranger posts on here that I've seen.
I wouldn't even use an arduino, unless you want to do something a bit more complicated:
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Design and build a relatively large, multistage model rocket, each stage using a couple of very powerful rocket motors (the solid state, gun powder based ones).
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Launch said rocket with father inside
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????
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profit
EDIT:
- Evade government agencies for launching unregistered objects into restricted international airspace.
some guy just sent a weather balloon into very low orbit (22miles up) with a off the shelf digital camera attached
maybe with some more balloons and reinforcements ...
I think there's a company in New Mexico who do this.
Balloons are inherintly tied to the atmosphere.
A gas filled bag would still sink in a vacuum, rockets and the like would be the way to go.
That said.. perhaps a railgun of some sort would be cooler...
The benefit of using some form of cannon is that it can be re-used =P
PS: do keep in mind that any cannon / railgun / whatyamacallit that can fire a projectile into orbit would make the military to rush to your door.
They'd probably offer a contract... which you'd probably HAVE to take 
Has he taken out an insurance policy to pay for all of this?
For that matter, does he have ANY insurance policy (term life, something)?
Does he have a living will/trust set up? Has he created a valid will? Have you and him thought about who will care for him as he ages?
Let me tell you - my parents didn't. It was only luck that my dad passed away before my mom did, and that she hadn't developed the alzheimers/dementia to the extent (my wife and I look back on events now and realize that she was barely hanging on mentally when he passed) that she did after he passed. She passed away last July, after living with us here in Phoenix from October 2008.
We are still working on the "estate", as it is (involving three states, two different sets of properties, and a few vehicles, among other junk) - she had no will (fortunately my father did); she didn't take care of her finances in the end - it took a while to sort out the 4+ years of social security checks she didn't cash (!!!).
If he is still of state of mind - you need to discuss this NOW with him. Don't wait. Don't put it off. Talk to your siblings (if any). Talk to your mom (if she is still around). Talk to any and all of your remaining relatives.
Oh - its probably too late for this, so get a hospital bed and other essentials prepared, because death isn't a "quick in your sleep" process. It can be a gradual, slow, grueling slog - filled with urine and feces and who knows what else. But, what I was going to say is that if your are thinking about putting your father into a nursing home or something, be prepared to go into massive debt unless you have some way to pay for it (like a living trust or long-term care insurance). Here in Phoenix, Arizona - toward the end of my mother's life when we couldn't take care of her any more, we tried to find a good nursing home (what we found was interesting - it seems like the majority of private nursing homes in the Phoenix area are run by Romanians - I am not sure why) - and you couldn't find anything for under $3000.00 a month; that only covered a bed, baths, and food - doctor visits, and other such things were "extra" (a lot extra). If your father develops dementia of a violent or difficult to handle nature, he will be discharged from the home (and you'll have to find another); too many discharges, you are "blacklisted" in a way - there are care homes that cater to such cases, but they tend to be few, and expensive (we found one that was $12,000 a month, for instance).
In the very end, we got super lucky - Hospice of the Valley helped us (a non-profit hospice and care facility operator here in Phoenix), and I can't thank them enough for their support and help. But you may not be so lucky, so start looking now.
Once again, you need to set things up now; my wife and I had to hit the ground running, and somehow we managed, but it wasn't easy (we also had the help of friends and my wife's family as well, plus some private care nurses). It was literally a case of us getting a call from a neighbor of my mom's in California telling us she was in the hospital with a broken hip (she fell trying to get into a transport van), and then about a month later she was in Phoenix with us, and we were getting things straightened away - less than a year later she had passed away, barely knowing her own name, let alone what was happenning to her or anyone else.
Forget the space flight aspect, unless your father is independently wealthy (or you are) or has set things up/arrangements for this. You have bigger problems to worry about.
Sorry - this is a been there, done that kind of thing, and I wish you weren't going thru this, but it is one of those things they don't typically teach or tell you about as you are growing up, though it is a reality of life, unfortunately.
Good luck, and may you and your father live a long life, and that he passes quietly in his sleep without the pain of dementia.
:-/
hmm, how much would that cost
Well, then that'll likely cover the "after the fact" portion (which is really the easy part, to an extent); everything else I wrote still applies. Do you have siblings? What about your mom (if she is alive)? Are they on board with blasting dad into space?
The prospect of sudden large amounts of money in play does funny things to people; what they do and how they react to it really indicates their character.
You really need to speak to a lot of people on this; an attorney would be a good first start (after family, of course). This forum isn't really the right place...
ignore all that
this is what they want - i am here on the theory side of it
could i put a rocket into space on my own...
i know theres other things like family - this is something hes said he wants since i was 6???
all my family knows he wants it, i am the only one remotely capable of making this happen for him
hopefully hes alive a long time
wills, legal stuff, its all sorted as far as i know
there not stupid, they will have it done
i just want to know how to go about putting a rocket into space, is this something a man with a shed can do?
could i put a rocket into space on my own...
It depends on your definition of "into space." For example:
some guy just sent a weather balloon into very low orbit (22miles up)
Altitude is not the same as "orbit"; it is "relatively easy" to build a rocket or balloon (or hire one) that will reach altitudes that are considered to be "space." But they fall back down. Reaching orbit ("doesn't fall back down for a long time") has been well beyond the reaches of amateurs (for one thing, you run into a lot of international law and paranoia. Sending something into orbit means you can attack any country on earth.)
You can see if the Russians are willing to add an "ash storage module" to the ISS. Since about $20million will send up a live body, complete with training and life-support equipment, you'd think that a $100k or so would be enough to send up a kg or so of ash. Shucks, the way funding is going maybe the US would get involved too...
Alternately, you can look into the whole cryonics semi-scam. For some $$$$$ per year, they'll freeze your head (or your entire body), in the hopes that someday the technology will exist to revive and/or upload you into some new life or pseudo-life. You could probably build a business around a whole new semi-scam where you promise to store someone's ashes until such time as it become practical to send them "into space." (variable cost, depending on your definition of "into space.") I'd be surprised if there isn't someone who is already doing this...
deffo food for thought thanks
so if i send something in a low orbit i will be killed/taken away basically ;D
to put the ashes into real space will cost mega amounts.
for me to build something that does this will probably be illegal. i live in the uk tbh i doubt they would notice unless i hit a plane or something...
i have to do this though - i am really up for the challenge now.
what if i make something that hits a high altitude like 120k feet and blows up so the ashes scatter and hopefully stay up there?
i think i have it sorted
a high altitude baloon
with a small fertiliser bomb and a arduino detonator
send it up with a rf link
when it stops receiving a signal it blows
Sending something up and then detonating it is most DEFINITELY illegal (at least in the USA), but I think that could be a reasonable alternative. I doubt the ashes would "Stay up there", but they would probably spread so widely that for all intents and purposes they're gone.
If you put the ashes in the balloon, it will burst anyway, so no explosives needed.
I wonder if the us air force has ever shot at a lost helium balloon by accident, misinterpreting it as an enemy aircraft or something of that sort?
with a small fertiliser bomb and a arduino detonator
Unless you want two dead bodies then I don't think that is a good idea!
If you don't blow yourself up making the bomb then you'll be as good as dead when they track you down for your 'terrorist attack attempt'
Maybe this is the way to go: http://www.celestis.com/ (no pun intended)
Mowcius
I just read the site http://www.celestis.com/ - I didn't see cost mentioned anywhere... I wonder how much?
I'd expect it's one of those "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" type prices?
Ken H.
I was just going to post http://www.celestis.com/ myself; if you google "cremains in space", you will see that it says (in their google paid links in pink at top) "from $995", with the next launch in Spring 2010 (in 35 days).
I would guess that $995 US probably covers only a very small capsule of a portion of the cremains; sending all of the cremains is probably possible, but is probably something you have to discuss with the company first. It is very unlikely that you can send an entire body up into orbit thru any company or organization (short of DIY - but you won't have the money for that) - sending cremains up is the "next best thing".
You are probably looking at a minimum of $10,000 US for all the cremains; that number is probably wildly wrong, though (not sure in what direction, either!). Speak with the company now; you can probably set up what is called a "pre-need" plan with them. Since the launches aren't "regular", you will probably have to have your father cremated, then sent up at a much later date when the next launch occurs (and you would have the money from the life insurance policy by then, likely, too).
One thing to keep in mind is that since we are talking ashes (more or less - read Mary Roach's book "Stiff" if you want the real skinny), you could elect to send some up in space, some scattered here on earth, some put in the sea...whatever. Something to think about, anyway...
Try and prove my process wrong. Given that he has the ability to do it.
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Make capsules (light, not heavy, flame resistant)
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Put ashes in capsules
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Make a railgun (powerful) (I mean nuclear powerful)
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Climb Mount Chimborazo (closest to outer space)
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Shoot Capsules into space from highest spot.
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He never said it was his father.
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I'm pretty sure he's just kidding.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I've got a better idea.
You can do this in your shed!
Make a portal gun.
http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_make_a_Portal_Gun/
Just shoot once at the floor and right click in real life and shoot at the moon. Make sure the dead body goes in the first portal at a high velocity to overcome the moon's gravity. Make sure you don't shoot the second portal at the front side of the moon. Rather, shoot the moon's side.
The first time I made my portal gun it didn't work. You kinda have to put something magical in it. I put in a 4 leaf clover and it worked. Try holy grail, leprechaun, honda civic, or a millenium puzzle.