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Scotty's Final Mission

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the best-way-to-go dept.

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.

43 of 221 comments (clear)

  1. I guess it's true.... by neokushan · · Score: 4, Funny

    He really couldn't bend the laws of physics after all =\

    --
    +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    1. Re:I guess it's true.... by A+beautiful+mind · · Score: 5, Funny

      You cannae change the laws of physics!

      --
      It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
      Be yourself no matter what they say
    2. Re:I guess it's true.... by neokushan · · Score: 3, Funny

      Laws of physics, laws of physics!

      --
      +1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
    3. Re:I guess it's true.... by coolmoose25 · · Score: 5, Funny

      The full line was "I cannae change the laws of physics... I've got to have 30 minutes"... I always thought it would have been funny if the line had been used in "Who Mourns for Adonsis" with Scotty in bed with Lt. Palamas, responding to her question "That was great Scotty, ready for another go?"

      --
      Brawndo: It's what plants crave!
    4. Re:I guess it's true.... by jonnythan · · Score: 4, Funny

      Biology is just applied chemistry, which is really just applied physics.

    5. Re:I guess it's true.... by Rene+S.+Hollan · · Score: 3, Funny
      "Hey, why are you all standing over there?".

      Thus spoke the Mathematician.

      --
      In Liberty, Rene
    6. Re:I guess it's true.... by risk+one · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Body odor". Thus spoke the others.

  2. Sooo...? by TubeSteak · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do they get a refund?

    That was my first thought when I heard about the ashes.

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  3. He warned 'em by $RANDOMLUSER · · Score: 4, Funny

    "She canna take much more 'o this - she'll blow!"

    --
    No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
  4. Talk about overkill... by techiemikey · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not only was he incinerated, but then they blew up the ashes.

    1. Re:Talk about overkill... by InvisblePinkUnicorn · · Score: 4, Funny

      Better nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

    2. Re:Talk about overkill... by everett · · Score: 5, Funny

      They'd have to be able to get in to orbit first and it would seem that is what is giving them trouble.

      --
      Sig withheld to protect the innocent.
    3. Re:Talk about overkill... by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well, he did get his ashes scattered.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
    4. Re:Talk about overkill... by shawn(at)fsu · · Score: 3, Funny

      And all along it was Bones who was worried about having his molecules scattered across space..

      --
      500 dollar reward for tip(s) leading to the arrest of the person(s) who stole my sig.
  5. Not enough power by Kell+Bengal · · Score: 3, Funny

    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.
    1. Re:Not enough power by AnswerIs42 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Once the ashes spread through the atmosphere... ALL of us will have a little Scotty in them from now on.

    2. Re:Not enough power by Fumus · · Score: 5, Funny

      You forgot that we'd have to get out of our basements for the Scotty-imbued air to reach us.

    3. Re:Not enough power by rodney+dill · · Score: 4, Funny

      Which undoubtedly will please George Takei to no end.

      --

      Use your head, can't you, use your head,
      You're on earth, there's no cure for that       - S. Beckett
  6. Scotty by sm62704 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "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
  7. Re:The captain? by edittard · · Score: 5, Funny

    Who was the captain aboard this vessel?

    That's wessel (as in nuclear), you insensitive clod!

    --
    At the bottom of the /. main page it says 'Yesterday's News'. Well they got that right.
  8. Turning in his Somewhat Charred Grave by segedunum · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

    1. Re:Turning in his Somewhat Charred Grave by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 4, Funny

      A good engineer always has a backup. Including of their own ashes.

    2. Re:Turning in his Somewhat Charred Grave by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Sadly, I think they were recovered...Which makes this the SECOND time the launch has failed.

      Who wants to lay odds on them finding the little charred capsule of ashes and making a third go of it?

      --
      ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
    3. Re:Turning in his Somewhat Charred Grave by yincrash · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well, last time the rocket crash landed. This time the rocket blew up. Chances of ash survival are probably slim.

    4. Re:Turning in his Somewhat Charred Grave by courtarro · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Chances of ash survival are probably slim.

      Since they're already the products of combustion, it's pretty likely the ashes survived. Unfortunately, they'd probably be pretty tough to find.

    5. Re:Turning in his Somewhat Charred Grave by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, last time the rocket crash landed. This time the rocket blew up.

      "The third rocket crash landed, then blew up. But the *fourth* rocket...stayed up!"

  9. I wold be honored none the less by AioKits · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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
    1. Re:I wold be honored none the less by Hao+Wu · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Philosophical question: Why is this kind of symbolism important to many of the same people who scoff at anything superstitious? Is this somehow more valid?

      --
      I suggest you read Slashdot
  10. KHANN!!!!! by SpecialAgentXXX · · Score: 4, Funny

    I suspect foul play...

  11. Dammit! by Threni · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm a engineer, Jim, not a fertilizer!

  12. It's worse than that by Chrisq · · Score: 4, Funny

    He's dead Jim, dead Jim, dead jim

    1. Re:It's worse than that by WeeLad · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah, we thought we lost him before, but he came back... TNG "Relics"

      --
      Seriously, Don't take anything I say seriously.
    2. Re:It's worse than that by WeeLad · · Score: 3, Funny

      Exactly! Now to get him back, I think we just reverse the polarity.

      --
      Seriously, Don't take anything I say seriously.
  13. Rest in Peace, Mr. Doohan by querist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  14. 1969 called... by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey today's space companies, NASA called from 1969 and said you suck!

    --
    stuff |
  15. Re:Old News? by SatanicPuppy · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.
  16. Gordon "Gordo" Cooper by nbvb · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    1. Re:Gordon "Gordo" Cooper by King_TJ · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think you make a valid point. Gordo Cooper is certainly worthy of mention, if someone is going to cover this story.

      But "absolutely depressing"? I don't come away with that, myself. Star Trek was a HUGELY popular TV show, that thrived against all odds at the time. For a while there, props were literally being created from stuff dug out of garbage dumpsters, due to a lack of funds. Its creator had a real vision and message of hope to express. It wasn't just another crappy sit-com cranked out to make a buck or two. It,arguably, did more to spark people's imaginations about the possibilities for space travel than anything else at the time. I can't prove it, but I sure would't be at all surprised to find that many of NASA's current and former employees would list Star Trek as one of their inspirations growing up.

  17. Re:Fucking /. hypocrits by sm62704 · · Score: 3, Funny

    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
  18. They wanted to save him but - by RevWaldo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "NO! You'll flood the whole compartment!"
    "He'll die in there!"
    "Elon! He's dead already.."


    James Doohan - RIP

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
  19. Only 94 more tries left... by Gavin+Scott · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

  20. Re:The captain? by nschubach · · Score: 4, Funny

    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.
  21. NOT Scotty's "Final Mission" by FleaPlus · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.