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Scotty's Final Mission
Jane Q. Public writes "According to Ars Technica, the ashes of James Doohan, who played "Scotty" in the original 'Star Trek' series and several movies, were aboard the SpaceX III launch and were lost when the launch vehicle failed." Which totally wouldn't have happened if Scotty was the engineer.
Update: 08/05 00:09 GMT by KD : BoingBoing has a tribute to Doohan from his son.
Update: 08/05 00:09 GMT by KD : BoingBoing has a tribute to Doohan from his son.
He really couldn't bend the laws of physics after all =\
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
Do they get a refund?
That was my first thought when I heard about the ashes.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
"She canna take much more 'o this - she'll blow!"
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
Not only was he incinerated, but then they blew up the ashes.
She kinna' doo it cap'n - it dinna' ha' the powah! At least now Scotty will be with us everywhere, up there, in the atmosphere.
Scientists point out problems, engineers fix them
altslashdot.org: The future of slashdot.
"Scotty! Do! something! Now!"
"He can't."
"Why? Can't? He?"
"He's dead, Jim."
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
Quite right. Scotty needs someone to tell him he has 4 hours for an 8 hour job so he can fix it in 2.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
That's wessel (as in nuclear), you insensitive clod!
At the bottom of the
Too bad he didn't make it to space though. Woulda been a fitting tribute. It's ironic that he'd have his ashes destroyed as the ship exploded after being immortalized for saving ships from said explosions.
Hmmmmm. I thought Scotty's ashes had been lost before:
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/10/2249214
Always multiply your estimates by a factor of 4. Seriously, the advice has done me wonders. People really do think that you're a miracle worker.
While this may be the geek in me, I would be honored if my ashes were sent up. Even if the vessel carrying them did not make it all the way up. Least this way my ashes are scattered in the most efficient way possible if/when the rocket goes Kaboom.
...
Sides with any luck some of my ashes will have drifted down and ended up in someone's soup. Eat me!
"Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx
I suspect foul play...
I'm a engineer, Jim, not a fertilizer!
He's dead Jim, dead Jim, dead jim
In a strange way, I see it as a fitting end to Mr. Doohan's physical form. He inspired countless young people to pursue careers in the sciences, and then, even after leaving this world, continues to inspire.
I know that the body is not the person, and I would like to think that his spirit lives on. At least in this way he can be thought of as being everywhere. Scotty was a fictional character, but through that character James Doohan inspired so many people to believe in themselves.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Doohan. You will be missed, but never forgotten.
Hey today's space companies, NASA called from 1969 and said you suck!
stuff |
This is the SECOND time its happened. More like deja vu than old news...Even reality has a dupe now and then.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
It is absolutely depressing to me that everyone shows some concern over the ashes of an ACTOR, but ignores the fact that a TRUE SPACE HERO (Gordo Cooper), one of the Mercury 7, was onboard. .... yikes.
Suspended Animation offers better recovery possibilities, especially now the latest suspend-to-disk has got into the kernel.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Well, I hope he's have a final mission anyways. The current enginner may be afraid on giving excuses to Scotty personaly. Gordon Cooper, astronaut from the original Mercury 7 was there too. Now, they are anywhere, "lost in space" Will... (sorry bad english).
Information technology means all information.
I think being lost in one of mankind's first strugles of exploration is a fine tribute. I wish as much for my own ashes.
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
What is an anti-rocketry, SUV-driving NASCAR redneck doing here? Oh trolling, never mind.
mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
What a send-off!
When all is said and done, nothing changes...
This is the second time James Doohan's ashes have been lost by a spacecraft. The first was mentioned on Slashdot http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/10/2249214 about a year go. His remains were lost after a sub-orbital craft landed in an inaccessible area in New Mexico. Last time his remains were eventually retrieved. Third times a charm?
Here's to losing my Karma Bonus again....
"NO! You'll flood the whole compartment!"
"He'll die in there!"
"Elon! He's dead already.."
James Doohan - RIP
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
The average weight of cremated remains for an adult male is six pounds according to Wikipedia, but weight is so limited in these rocket launches that they're only sending an ounce or two of the remains each time.
So there's plenty more Scotty to go around.
G.
Launch 1: Failure Launch 2: Failure At this point, who the hell decided that "third time's the charm" and it would be a good idea to load it up with pricey satellites and irreplaceable human relics? Lunch 3: Spectacular Failure Here's an idea: how about we let Space X get at least ONE successful test launch under their belt before we start entrusting them with our payload?
Apparently they forgot to put the ashes of an anonymous crew member in there as well. Everyone knows they are the first to go giving just enough time for the recurring members to get away.
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
There's a huge misconception most people seem to have about this story, so I figured I'd repost my comment from the previous SpaceX story:
It's worth noting though that Celestis, the company which offers the service for placing a person's cremated remains on a space launch, only uses a tiny portion of the ashes on a particular launch. From their FAQ:
http://www.memorialspaceflights.com/faq.asp
Why launch only a symbolic portion?
We offer the launch of a symbolic portion of the cremated remains as a memorial service, not final disposition of all the remains, because although dramatic progress is being made by entrepreneurs in reducing launch costs, spaceflight is still quite expensive. By launching a portion we can offer an affordable service, and also can provide performance assurance.
We will arrange for final disposition of the balance of the cremated remains through a sea scattering service, should you so desire.
Space launches are challenging. What if the orbit is not achieved?
In the event that the Celestis Earth Orbit Service spacecraft does not achieve orbit, we will -- at no additional cost -- place a second sample of the cremated remains aboard our next scheduled mission.
I have always found it odd that through out our mortal life we continually leave behind residue that is flushed, exfoliated, sloughed and sweated off, laundered away down the drain, never to be seen again, that's the POINT. Then after we have expired, suddenly our remains are rendered holy and we go to great lengths to bring them to a meaningful place and scatter them just so. I know this all has to do with various religious beliefs, its just strange.