James Doohan from Star Trek has reached the final frontier. A new interview revealed that an astronaut took Doohan’s ashes with him when he visited the International Space Station.
Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott on the show and who started the phrase “Beam me up, Scotty”, was always being asked to push Enterprise engines beyond their limits. But he finally made it to space in 2008. He died at the age of 85 in 2005.
Businessman Richard Garriott, 59, smuggled Doohan’s ashes to the ISS in 2008 during a 12-day mission as a private astronaut. He was supported by Doohan’s son Chris, who said his father’s wish was to reach the ISS. The request was denied on two other voyages, resulting in Garriott having to undertake clandestine means to put the ashes on board.
Garriott took a card with Doohan’s photo and some of his ashes, which were laminated and placed under the floor covering of the space station’s Columbus module.