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Star Trek Scotty actor James Doohan’s ashes lost

Monday, 14 May 2007

Star Trek Scotty actor James Doohan’s ashes lost

The ashes of Star Trek actor James Doohan, who was famous for his role as Scotty, were on a rocket, which got lost and has not yet been found again, two weeks after it made a return from the edge of space.

Some of James Doohan's ashes, along with those of 200 other people including those of astronaut L Gordon Cooper, were on the rocket launched from a site in New Mexico on 28 April. After reaching its planned height of 72.7 miles (117 kms) it came down in some mountains.

Space Services Inc explained that although the rocket had locator beacons, bad weather had made it impossible for them to locate it but they have not given up on finding it. A spokesman for the company said: "They know the general location, and we have the utmost confidence that they will recover it."

James Doohan’s role of Scotty in the original Star Trek TV series made the actor countless fans worldwide and again playing the part of the practical and highly valued engineer for the Starship Enterprise in several Star Trek films.

James Doohan died at the age of 85 in 2005 after battling against Alzheimers disease for several years.

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