Space is the final frontier; now, it will also be Nichelle Nichols’ final resting place.
This past July, the pioneering actress is known worldwide as the bold (and dare I say, hot) Lieutenant Nyota Uhura on Star Trek died in the comfort of her home at age 89. For decades, Gene Roddenberry’s maiden voyage to TV made Nichols a household name and a beloved icon for BIPOC fans. And now, thanks to a private partnership between NASA and Celestis Inc., Nichelle Nichols‘ ashes will be released in space.
Speaking of maiden voyages, Celestis Voyager Memorial Spacelight does this for a living. Celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary, the Celestis’ first flight will launch from NASA’s hallowed ground in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
As part of the flight, Nichols will be reunited with some of her USS Enterprise crew. Joining her will be:
- Douglas Turnbull may not be a name you recognize, but his VFX work is unparalleled. His avant-garde approach to science fiction movies is in Close Encounters, Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Star Trek. This February, he died from complications due to Mesothelioma. He was 79 years old.
- James Doohan, who played the spacecraft’s chief engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott. In 2005, Doohan succumbed to Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 85 years old.
- Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was prominently known on Star Trek for playing Enterprise Nurse Christine Chapel. She also played Number One (Star Trek original TV series), Lwaxana Troi (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), and was the voice of most computer interfaces from 1966 to 2009. In 2008, she died because of leukemia. She was 76 years old.
- Eugene “Gene” Roddenberry is the author of one of the most successful sci-fi franchises in history. Because of his vision for Star Trek and his acts to merchandise it, fandoms were born as “Trekkies” have evangelized their love for the series ever since 1966. In 1991, he suffered a massive blood clot and died. He was 70 years old.
Together, on a posthumous passenger manifest, this actual spacecraft will carry “a collection of vials containing cremated ashes and DNA samples” of the Star Trek dearly departed. While many others will clamor for this cosmic immortality (and yes, you can), there could be no more regaled and appropriate send-off for Nichelle Nichols and her mates of the Enterprise than this.
Godspeed.
Featured Image Credit: John Finger/Paramount Television and Desilu Productions
Since he saw ‘Dune’ in the $1 movie theater as a kid, this guy has been a lover of geek culture. It wasn’t until he became a professional copywriter, ghostwriter, and speechwriter that he began to write about it (a lot).
From the gravitas of the Sith, the genius of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or the gluttony of today’s comic fan, SPW digs intelligent debate about entertainment. He’s also addicted to listicles, storytelling, useless trivia, and the Oxford comma. And, he prefers his puns intended.
