Remains of Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols To Launch into Space

Houston, Texas-based Celestis Memorial Spaceflights announced Thursday it will be sending a "symbolic portion" of the actress's cremated remains to space aboard a rocket, along with those of other Star Trek cast members.

Nichols, remembered by millions for her role as Lt. Nyota Uhura, the communications officer aboard starship USS Enterprise, died this past July 30, at age 89. She is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson.

The rocket carrying Nichols' ashes will also contain DNA from Kyle, allowing mother and son to symbolically "fly together on a forever mission known as Enterprise Flight," Celestis Memorial Spaceflights spokesperson Pazia Schonfeld told FLYING.

The Enterprise Flight will be operated in conjunction with United Launch Alliance, according to Celestis. The rocket, dubbed Vulcan, is expected to travel between 150 million to 300 million kilometers into deep space.  

The launch will include more than 200 flight capsules containing cremated remains, messages of greetings, and DNA samples from clients worldwide on an endless journey in interplanetary space, Celestis said in a release. First, Vulcan will be tasked with putting Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on a trajectory for its rendezvous with the moon. Next, the “Centaur rocket’s upper stage will continue into deep space, entering an orbit around the sun, becoming humanity’s furthermost reaching outpost, which will then be renamed the Enterprise Station," the company news release said.

"The capsules that carry the cremated remains are made from aircraft-grade aluminum. They are round and range from 1/4 inch to 1 inch," Colby Youngblood, president of Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, told FLYING on Friday. "The clients who wish to send cremains are sent a flight kit that allows them to send a few grams of the ashes. For DNA submissions we work with a company out of Canada that takes a cheek swab that turns it into powder."

According to a Celestis website, memorial spaceflight experiences run from $2,495 for Earth Rise, which consists of a launch to space and return to Earth, to $12,500, for either launch to deep space or to the moon.

However, Youngblood, a science fiction fan, noted, "If you are a member of the original 'Star Trek' cast, the flight is gratis," saying the Enterprise Memorial Flight is the result of a promise Charles M. Chafer, co-founder and CEO of Celestis made to the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry—the late Majel Roddenberry—in 1997 during the company’s inaugural flight.

"Gene Roddenberry's cremains were on board, and Majel was there during the launch. She turned to Charlie and says, 'Promise me that when it is my time you will fly me with Gene into deep space.' Charlie promised he would." Youngblood said.

Majel Roddenberry appeared in several roles in the Star Trek franchise, first as the character No. 1—the first officer aboard the Enterprise in the pilot episode—then later as Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, followed by Lxwana Troi in Star Trek the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. She also provided the voice for the computer aboard the starships. 

Youngblood notes that the DNA of son Rod Roddenberry will also be aboard, as will the cremains of actor James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek franchise. “Scotty,” as he was known, had keen problem-solving abilities and was the only crew member in a red shirt to routinely survive away missions.

Johnson said he had heard of Celestis and the memorial space flights, and was pleasantly surprised when the company reached out to him a few days after his mother passed with the offer of a gratis flight.

"It was very uplifting for me personally, as her passing was rather sudden, and one cannot prepare for these things," he said. "They offered this marvelous invitation to join this flight with Gene and Majel and Jimmy Doohan and Douglas Trumball who did the special effects for the 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, he explained. "It was a wonderful, generous offer that couldn't have come at a better time."

Johnson, who was a teenager when his mother landed the role on Star Trek, noted that, at the time, it was an acting job, and that no one had any idea the television series would become the cultural influence that it did. 

"It wasn't larger than life then," he explains. "There was ‘Star Trek’ the original series and then afterward came the ‘Star Trek’ phenomenon."

Johnson recalls that Roddenberry, who in the early 1960s was an up-and-coming television producer and writer, had worked with his mother on The Lieutenant, a television show which ran on NBC from 1963-1964.

"He created the role of Uhura on ‘Star Trek’ with her in mind," he said. "My mother shared some of what she experienced on ‘Star Trek’ with me. She said Gene was able to get creative control of the series and the network later came to regret it because of the way Gene chose to utilize that control."

For example, Roddenberry wanted his fictional creation of Star Fleet to represent cultural diversity—the inclusion of a Black communications officer as a main character was part of that. At the time, most Black actors were relegated to background roles in television programs, often playing servants. 

Over the years, Nichols told numerous interviewers that she was unaware, at first, of the impact her role was having on society. She described how she had become dissatisfied after the first season, saying some of the mail she received at the studio was hostile and racist. She wanted to resign, but a discussion with civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King at an NAACP fundraiser changed her mind. King, who described himself as her biggest fan, persuaded Nichols to remain with the show by pointing out how the role she played was non-traditional, non-stereotypical, and ground-breaking, changing the societal perception of the roles of Black people.

"Plato's Children" is still regarded as a ground-breaking and controversial Star Trek episode because of a scene where series star Capt. James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, is forced to kiss Lt. Uhura for the amusement of the Platonians, a sadistic race with telekinetic powers. The characters physically try to avoid the kiss, then are forced into a clinch. The episode aired in 1968 and NBC was worried the episode would generate a hostile backlash. 

"It did cause a stir," Johnson remembers.

Nichols told interviewers she got a lot of fan mail about that particular episode from girls who wanted to know what it was like to kiss Capt. Kirk.

Johnson noted that when the series went off the air and into syndication, there was some downtime between jobs and that led Nichols to look for alternative revenue streams.

"When you become an actor you have to commit to some lean times between jobs," he said. "That's when she started her company with some fellow actresses and colleagues. She didn't have a name for it yet and we were discussing it, brainstorming for a name. Mom came to me and I popped out 'Women in Motion' and she said, 'Yes! That's it!' and she jumped into the deep end with both feet."

In 1976, America developed the space shuttle, the first reusable spacecraft. When NASA looked for names for the proof-of-concept ship, a massive letter-writing campaign persuaded the space agency to name the shuttle Enterprise after the fictional starship. Nichols and several other members of the cast and Roddenberry were invited as special guests to see the debut of the shuttle in 1976. Nichols, through Women in Motion, would go on to help NASA recruit diverse candidates—namely women and minorities for the shuttle program. 

“Nichelle Nichols was a trailblazing actress, advocate, and dear friend to NASA. At a time when Black women were seldom seen on screen, Nichelle’s portrayal as Nyota Uhura on ‘Star Trek’ held a mirror up to America that strengthened civil rights. Nichelle’s advocacy transcended television and transformed NASA,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “After Apollo 11, Nichelle made it her mission to inspire women and people of color to join this agency, change the face of STEM, and explore the cosmos. Nichelle’s mission is NASA’s mission. Today, as we work to send the first woman and first person of color to the moon under Artemis, NASA is guided by the legacy of Nichelle Nichols.”

Fans of Nichols are encouraged to participate in Enterprise Flight, said Youngblood.

"They can go to Enterprise-flight.com and leave a tribute message to Nichelle, and we will fly your message into space. We wanted fans to be able to participate in this. We know what she meant to everyone so we think that's important."

“We are truly honored to add a legendary actress, activist, and educator to the Enterprise Flight manifest,” said Chafer. “Now our Enterprise Flight will have on board the person who most completely embodied the vision of ‘Star Trek’ as a diverse, inclusive, and exploring universe.”

The Enterprise Memorial Flight is slated to launch in December.