Falcon Heavy Going for First Night Launch on Monday, Carries Human Ashes [LIVE]

This Monday's scheduled Falcon Heavy launch (June 24) is the third of the rocket, following the maiden flight in February 2018 that put a car is space and the second that carried the Arabsat 6A satellite into orbit.

This is however the first time the rocket is scheduled to take off at night, making for a hell of a show in the area around the Kennedy Space Center. Most importantly, this launch is the first for the Heavy using side boosters that were flown before.

On board the rocket is a variety of cargo, ranging from important satellites for various organization to human remains.

With the Heavy, NASA will be sending to space the Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC), a piece of hardware meant to test a system that could allow future astronauts to use a GPS-derivative in space.

One of the world’s most popular mechanical engineers, Bill Nye, will use the Falcon to send his LightSail 2 to orbit, trying to prove humans could use the Sun’s light to generate thrust in space.

The U.S. Air Force hitches a ride as well, in their case to deploy a cluster of satellites we know nothing about. We do know though this is the first Department of Defense contract awarded to the Falcon Heavy.

The remains of over 100 people will also be on board, courtesy of Celestis, a company that specializes in sending cremated human remains into space. These unlikelypassengers include, according to CNET, former NASA astronaut Bill Pogue and former two-time all-star player in the Nippon Pro Baseball league, Masaru Tomita.

This Monday’s Falcon Heavy launch, dubbed Mission STP-2, will broadcast live on SpaceX’s Youtube channel. You can also wacth the launch below.