Space date set for Scotty’s ashes http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5212644.stm Celebrating the Legendary James Doohan http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/specials/article/6527.html An Interview with James “Scotty” Doohan http://www.infinite-energy.com/iemagazine/issue26/scotty.html Space Services http://www.memorialspaceflights.com/ Star Trek: New Voyages http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/ The television show Star Trek, while not tremendously popular during its initial run in the early 1960s, soon garnered a following that could, at the very least, be described as thoroughly devoted. Over the past forty years, the show has been shown in syndication almost continuously, and has also served as the inspiration for a movie franchise, several additional television series, dozens of books, and the requisite merchandise and memorabilia industries. Many famous characters were created as part of the original series, including Montgomery “Scotty” Scott. James Doohan, who played the chief engineer of the crew’s hardy vessel, the Starship Enterprise, passed away last July at the age of 85. He had always expressed a strong desire to travel into space, and it seems that he will now get his wish, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. Earlier this week, it was announced that several grams of Doohan’s ashes would be placed on a 15-minute suborbital flight that will leave from southern New Mexico this coming fall. His widow commented, “It’s a way to honor something he would have loved to have done.” As of this writing, it is not known whether William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, or any of the other original cast members have a similar wish for their own ashes. The first link will take users to a news article from this Wednesday’s New York Post detailing the general plan to take a small amount of Doohan’s ashes into space. The second link leads to a like-minded piece from the BBC’s online news service, complete with links to previous articles, including Doohan’s obituary from last year. The third link leads to a nice article on Doohan from StarTrek.com, and includes a recap of some of his most famous lines of dialogue and some home movies. The fourth link leads to an interview with Doohan that appeared amidst the pages of InfiniteEnergy, the “magazine of new energy science and technology.” Moving on to the fifth link, users will find the homepage of Space Services, Inc. It’s an interesting way to learn about their unique services, particularly when one considers their mission “to honor the dream and memory of your departed loved one by launching a symbolic portion of cremated remains into Earth orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space.” For those looking for an additional Star Trek “fix”, this last website will be most welcome. Created by Star Trek enthusiast (and Elvis impersonator) James Cawley, this site presents new adventures of the Star Trek crew. Cawley’s mission is to finish the original series five-year voyage, which of course was not completed due to the concerns of this world. Those concerns were largely that CBS cancelled the program. Visitors can view the new episodes here at no cost, and some of them are rather well done.