The ashes of Star Trek star James Doohan were blasted into space late last month when a rocket carrying a symbolic portion of the late actor's cremated remains was launched in New Mexico.
Doohan, beloved for his role as the USS Enterprise's chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, died aged 85 in 2005, however plans for his posthumous rendezvous with the stars have been repeatedly delayed.
The launch, organized by Space Services Inc, saw a SpaceLoft XL rocket blast off from the Spaceport America private launchpad near Las Cruces, in New Mexico, USA.
PHOTO: AFP
"While 'Scotty' lived this, Jimmy lived for this," Doohan's widow Wende said in a press release. "I will be there to see the launch, knowing that Jimmy is participating in an industry which he loved so very much."
A public memorial service took place at the New Mexico Museum of Space History the day before the launch.
Ashes belonging to 201 other people were also catapulted into the heavens along with Doohan, including those of Gordon Cooper, a US astronaut who was part of the Mercury manned spaceflight program in the early 1960s.
Doohan's posthumous spaceflight saw him follow in the footsteps of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, whose remains were fired into space by SSI in 1997, six years after his death.
SSI offers a variety of services for families wishing to shoot the remains of loved ones into space.
Launching a single gram of ashes comes with a US$495 (NT$16,471) price tag, while sending remains into deep space, a service which comes into effect from 2009, will cost up to US$12,500 (NT$415,938).(AFP)
上個月底一枚從新墨西哥州發射升空的火箭，象徵性地載運影集「星艦奇航記」已故影星詹姆士督漢的部分骨灰上太空。
以「企業號」輪機長蒙哥馬利．史考特（暱稱「史考提」）一角深獲民眾喜愛的督漢，二００五年以八十五歲高齡辭世，但他身後與眾「星」相伴的計畫，卻因故一再延誤。
負責籌畫發射行動的「太空服務公司」表示，SpaceLoft XL火箭從新墨西哥州拉斯庫魯賽斯附近的「美國太空港」私人發射台發射。
督漢的遺孀溫蒂在一份聲明稿中表示：「太空是『史考提』的舞台，吉米也為太空而活。我會在那裡觀看火箭發射，我知道吉米參與的是他熱愛至極的行業。」
發射前夕，新墨西哥州太空史博物館舉辦了一場公開追悼儀式。
其他二０一人的骨灰也和督漢一起送上太空。一九六０年代初期曾參與水星載人太空船計畫的美國太空人戈登?古柏的骨灰也在其中。
「星艦奇航記」創作者吉恩?羅登貝瑞的骨灰在他去世六年後，一九九七年由「太空服務公司」送上太空。如今督漢也步上他的後塵。
「太空服務公司」為希望將心愛家人骨灰送上太空的家庭，提供各式服務。
每公克骨灰的發射費為四百九十五美元（新台幣一萬六千四百七十一元），不過自二００九年起，載運骨灰到外太空的代價將高達一萬兩千五百美元（新台幣四十一萬五千九百三十八元）。（法新社／翻譯：林倩如）
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