Ryan Mitchell has spent more than 20 years helping launch humans into the heavens on shuttles, rockets, and jets. Now, the Georgia Tech graduate is aiming to make space accessible in a way most people never imagined.

"Most of us will not be able to go to space during our lifetime," Mitchell said. "So I created Space Beyond to create a pathway and opportunity for everyone to be part of this new space age."

By "everyone," Mitchell doesn't mean the living. His Atlanta-based start-up is offering a chance for families to memorialize loved ones, both humans and pets, by launching their ashes into orbit.

"Perhaps they have their ashes sitting in an urn on the shelf, or perhaps even in a box in the back corner of the closet," Mitchell said. "And they've been looking for something to do."

Mitchell calls it a way to "let go, but not say goodbye."

While other companies, such as Celestis, have offered "space burials" since 1994 with prices starting at more than $3,000, Mitchell says his venture is designed to make the service affordable. Space Beyond charges $249 per client.

"The intention is to make it cheap enough that everybody can do it," he said.

Here's how it works: Customers receive a kit that includes a small spoon, a funnel, and a vial. They send back a symbolic portion of ashes — about one gram — which is then placed into a 6x6 aluminum cube. The cubes will be carried aboard a spacecraft the company plans to build.

"We can take several hundred clients on each one of these spacecrafts," Mitchell said. "Think of it as a space bus, or Uber share. We are sharing the cost over many people."

Once in orbit, families will be able to track their loved ones' journey in real time using a smartphone.

"So it's actually quite elegant," Mitchell said. "It's pretty simple. App-based or web-based trackers have that information."

The mission is designed to place ashes in low-Earth orbit for 25 years, the same orbit used by many satellites. When the spacecraft eventually reenters Earth's atmosphere, ashes will blaze across the sky like a shooting star.

"Somebody will see it most likely," Mitchell said. "Earth is a big place."

With cremation rates at historic highs across the U.S., Mitchell believes space could become the ultimate final frontier.