'Scotty' Of Star Trek Has Ashes 'Beamed' Into Space

Audie Cornish and Robert Siegel note that the ashes of some celebrities' were launched on the SpaceX Falcon rocket on Tuesday. They include those of James "Scotty" Doohan of Star Trek and astronaut Gordon Cooper.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

One final note on the SpaceX launch: It's carrying some precious cargo. In addition to much-needed supplies for the space station, it also has the ashes of 308 people, including...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR TREK")

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

That's actor James Doohan, who played chief engineer Scotty on the original "Star Trek" TV series. He's in good company. Along with him, the ashes of real-life Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper.

CORNISH: Also aboard are the remains of Brady Kane, who died last year in a skydiving accident in Colorado.

SIEGEL: And Francis McShane of New York, who died of heart attack. His friends pooled their money to get his ashes aboard.

CORNISH: The ashes are kept in a canister that separates from the main capsule. If everything works out, it will orbit the Earth, then vaporize as it reenters the atmosphere.

SIEGEL: SpaceX teamed up with an outfit called Celestis to provide this service. The individual price tag for its so-called Earth orbit memorial service: $3,000.

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