The ashes of Star Trek Actor James Doohan was reportedly smuggled aboard the International Space Station by video game developer and businessman Richard Garriott.
Doohan played the famous figure of Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, the engineer for the Star Trek USS Enterprise.
The Canadian actor died in 2005 at the age of 85, however, he still managed to reach space in the following years.
According Deadline, Garriott was one of the first private citizens to visit the International Space Station (ISS) in 2008 during a 12-day self-funded mission as a private astronaut.
In a new interview, Garriott said The Sunday Times of how he was contacted by the son of actor Chris Doohan, who said it was his father’s wish to go to the ISS.
Garriott agreed to the proposal and received Doohan’s ashes, however, due to time constraints, he was forced to bypass the official process necessary to bring objects on board the station.
In what he says is a “completely clandestine” mission, Garriott smuggled several laminated photos of Doohan – which contained some of his ashes – on board the ISS. He went on to secretly hide one of the letters behind the floor covering of the station’s Columbus module.
“His family was very satisfied with the ashes, but we were all disappointed that we hadn’t talked about it publicly for so long. Now, enough time has passed for us to be able to, ”said Garriott.
A second laminated card was allegedly launched into space by Gariott, while the third was returned to the late actor’s son.
Talking to the Times, Doohan’s son praised Garriott for taking the risk on behalf of his father. He said to the publication: “Richard said, ‘We need to keep this secret for a while’, and here we are 12 years later.
“What he did was play – it meant a lot to me, a lot to my family and it would have meant a lot to my dad. My father had three passions: space, science and trains. He always wanted to go to space. “
A video of Garriott with the card at the station was also published by the publication.