"Phillip was a larger-than-life character," his mom says. "Just prior to his passing, he had planned his graduation trip. He was really into history. He was a really big history buff."
Phillip visited seventeen countries and more than two dozen states before his untimely death more than a year ago. He would have graduated from high school this spring. Obsessed with the Hapsburg Empire, he wanted to visit places in Eastern Europe, like the Czech Republic and the Danube River. Soon Phillip's family, including his mom, dad and sister, will send part of his ashes to space so he can see the whole world.
"He wanted to see the world," Aymee says. "We thought that would be the most special way to honor him, to give him an opportunity to see the world in a way the rest of us can't — to go into space and truly see the entire world."
Phillip died unexpectedly while traveling with his family in 2023. His family prefers not to talk about the accident that led to his death. "It was something that we didn't see coming," Aymee adds.
The Diaz family moved around the country during Phillip's life as his dad, Jeffrey, secured different jobs and moved through his career. Still, they consider themselves an Aurora family, as that's where they lived for more than four years. Phillip attended Black Hills Elementary School, near East Arapahoe and East Smoky Hill roads in the Tallyn's Reach neighborhood, from first to fifth grade. During that time, Aymee worked as an office manager for the Cherry Creek School District.
"It's strange. We don't have family in Aurora, but we had a really big, extended family in Aurora," she says. "The teachers, the staff, that entire community of Tallyn's Reach, and just that whole area was our family. ...At that time, that community was home for us, and we missed it."
Phillip's family wanted a way to honor his love of travel and seeing the world, so they decided to let him see it from Earth's orbit.
Courtesy of Celestis
"We would want to thank them for welcoming us, taking us into their family and being with us every step of the way," she says. "They've all kept in touch, even after his passing. That has been my greatest support system, those friends that we made in Aurora."
The family started the Phillip Diaz Bright Star Foundation with the mission of "spreading kindness in Phillip's name," she says, but they also want to highlight his love of travel and seeing the world.
Referring to Phillip as "our star," she and the family started looking for ways to celebrate his life that involved stars, too. That's how they came across the memorial spaceflight service offered by Celestis, which sends departed loved ones to space in commercial spacecraft.
Referring to Phillip as "our star," she and the family started looking for ways to celebrate his life that involved stars, too. That's how they came across the memorial spaceflight service offered by Celestis, which sends departed loved ones to space in commercial spacecraft.
"I came across a post that another mom had made about the service," Aymee recalls. "I talked about it with my husband and my daughter, and we just thought, 'Well, what better way can Phillip see the world than go up and see the world?'"
Celestis has been around for more than thirty years and has sent the cremated remains or DNA of more than 2,500 people into space. Charles Chafer, Celestis CEO and founder, says that Phillip's story stands out for a couple of reasons.
"One thing is how young he was and his passing came very early in his life," Chafer says. "The other thing is that many, or most, of our clients or participants are people with a pretty strong connection to interest in space."
A couple grams of Phillip's cremated remains will be put in a steel capsule and launched into outer space aboard a Space X Falcon 9 on an unmanned flight called Serenity. The satellite will be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, but the launch date has yet to be set.
Phillip's remains will orbit the earth for five to ten years, and his family will be able to track where the capsule is. Eventually, gravity will reel the satellite back in, and during its re-entry into the atmosphere, the spacecraft and Phillip's capsule will burn up like a shooting star, Chafer says.
"It's great to know that Phillip will be all over the world," Aymee says. "He'll get to look down at every place he ever imagined, every place he ever studied. He'll get to look down and see it all. And no matter where we go, he's up there."
