Virginia would help pay for it under proposed legislation that aims to boost the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport.
The bill, which the General Assembly will debate next year, would provide a Virginia income tax deduction up to $2,500 a year for such burials. The total deduction could not exceed $8,000.
Proponents hope the measure will provide revenue for the spaceport, which is expanding because NASA decided to cancel the space shuttle program. The facility, which describes itself as a “full-service, FAA-licensed spaceport,” is located at Wallops Island on Virginia’s coast.
Space burials, in which small samples of the cremated remains of people are sent into orbit, began in 1997. Among those whose remains were sent to space: “Star Trek” actor James Doohan and LSD guru Timothy Leary.
