DeForest Kelley at a 1988 Star Trek convention. (Photo by Alan C. Teeple/ CC BY-SA 3.0).
The Enterprise Flight, organized by Houston-based Celestis, will send capsules containing cremated remains and DNA from lots of individuals into deep area late this year or early next year. Celestis payload is because of ride on the Centaur upper stage for the first launch of United Launch Alliances Vulcan rocket. (Yes, Spock fans … its a Vulcan.).
A memorial spaceflight commemorating the cast and crew of the initial “Star Trek” TV program has actually just added another star to the guest list.
DeForest Kelley — who played Leonard “Bones” McCoy, the Starship Enterprises physician– will be represented by a thimble-sized sample of DNA on next years “Enterprise Flight.” Kelley died in 1999 at the age of 79, but the DNA was drawn out from a hair sample that was protected after his death.
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When Kelley passed away all those years earlier, his wife Carolyn asked a household good friend and caretaker called Kris M. Smith to cut off a couple of locks of the actors hair as keepsakes. Carolyn herself died in 2004, however Smith kept the hair sample. This year, as news of the Enterprise Flight spread, Smith connected via a mutual contact and offered to provide the sample to Celestis for DNA extraction and inclusion on the flight.
” I contributed the lock of hair so De could join his shipmates on their everlasting journey into interstellar space. The objective just didnt feel complete without Dr. McCoy aboard,” Smith said. “I believe De would have loved to go hopping galaxies again with his cast and crewmates. So, second star to the right and directly on til early morning, De! Loving you was easier than anything we will ever do again!”.
Celestis has established a site where Trek fans (and anybody else, for that matter) can submit their names to be included on the flight as small lines of text that are laser-etched onto an inch-wide nickel disc. Sending your name is free, however for a charge, you can include an individual message or picture.
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The prime directive for the Vulcan launch is to send Astrobotics Peregrine lander to the lunar surface area for a NASA-supported mission, but after the Centaur has actually done its task, it will enter into a “graveyard orbit” around the sun, together with the capsules loaded aboard the spacecraft.
In addition to Kelley, the Star Trek personages represented on the flight include Nichelle Nichols (who played Lieutenant Uhura), James Doohan (who played Scotty, the starships chief engineer), Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Nurse Chapel), series developer Gene Roddenberry and visual-effects wizard Douglas Trumbull. Nichols ashes and DNA were added to Celestis manifest just a number of weeks earlier.
Charles Chafer, co-founder and CEO of Celestis, remembered of the truth that today is celebrated as Star Trek Day. “Its particularly significant that we reveal DeForest Kelleys addition to our Enterprise Flight on Star Trek Day,” he said in a news release. “No objective to deep area would be total without a ships medical professional.”.
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Celestis payload is due to ride on the Centaur upper phase for the very first launch of United Launch Alliances Vulcan rocket. “Its particularly noteworthy that we announce DeForest Kelleys addition to our Enterprise Flight on Star Trek Day,” he stated in a news release. When Kelley died all those years ago, his better half Carolyn asked a household buddy and caregiver called Kris M. Smith to cut off a couple of locks of the actors hair as keepsakes. This year, as news of the Enterprise Flight spread, Smith reached out through a mutual contact and offered to provide the sample to Celestis for DNA extraction and addition on the flight.
2nd star to the right and directly on til morning, De!