AI Insight
On October 22, 1992, NASA's space shuttle Columbia launched on mission STS-52 carrying a portion of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's ashes into space, fulfilling his lifelong dream nearly one year after his death. Commander James Wetherbee transported the ashes as part of his personal effects at the request of Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett, though this was kept confidential until 1994. This event marked the world's first space burial, preceding commercial space memorial services.
Why it matters
This mission established the precedent for space burials, leading to the creation of commercial space memorial companies like Celestis in 1997. Since then, cremated remains of numerous individuals, including other Star Trek cast members and astronomer Eugene Shoemaker, have been launched into space, to the Moon, and into deep space, creating a new form of memorial service.
Understand the Science
On Oct. 22, 1992, the space shuttle Columbia launched into space with the ashes of Gene Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek,” aboard.
During mission STS-52, NASA astronaut and shuttle commander James Wetherbee brought a small container with a portion of Roddenberry’s ashes into space as part of his personal effects at the request of Roddenberry’s widow, Majel Barrett. It was Roddenberry’s lifelong dream to go to space, but he never got to go while he was alive.
But thanks to his wife, a little bit of Roddenberry finally made it to space almost exactly one year after his death. NASA and his family didn’t tell anyone about it until almost two years later in 1994.
Wetherbee said he was “honored to be asked” by Barrett to carry Roddenberry’s ashses on the spaceflight. “I’m just glad I was able to bring a little happiness to the family,” he said, according to Newsweek.
Here’s why it mattered
The launch of Roddenberry’s ashes into space on NASA’s STS-52 mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia marked the world’s first “space burial,” but it wouldn’t be the last.
About five years after Roddenberry’s memorial flight, in 1997, the space memorial company Celestis began launching a series of “burial” flights by flying capsules with human cremains on rockets . In fact, more of Roddenberry’s ashes flew on Celestis’ “founders flight” in April 1997 aboard an air-launched Pegasus rocket that took off from the Canary Islands in Spain. The ashes of Roddenberry’s wife and of Star Trek actor James Doohan have also flown in space, among others.
Celestis has gone on to launch human cremains on many suborbital and orbital flights, including some on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. The company even launched the ashes of the late astronomer Eugene Shoemaker to the moon in 1999 on the Luna 1 flight, with another set of cremains launched into deep space on the Enterprise mission in 2023.
Want more space history? Check out our full On This Day In Space Story archive and watch our On This Day In Space videos on YouTube.