The attention of not only Trekkies, but many in the world were focused on one of the smaller Marshall Islands on August 2^nd. The object of their attention was a rocket sitting on a launch pad, with the countdown ongoing. The Falcon 1 rocket contained some small satellites for the Department of Defense, and NASA. It also included one very precious item of cargo: a small cylinder containing portions of the ashes of over 200 individuals, including James Doohan, Star Trek's beloved Scotty, Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper, Star Trek writer John Meredyth Lucas, and Country music writer Randy VanWarmer.

During the Internet broadcast of the launch, viewers observed as, after many holds, the countdown reached zero, and after a short burst of flame, the launch aborted. After studying the data from first attempt, the ground controllers with SpaceX, the creators of the Falcon 1, decided to attempt launch again.

Once again, the countdown made it's way to zero and this time everyone was rewarded with the burst of flame from the base of the rocket and the sight of it rising from its pad, heading into the sky. Viewers were then treated to an amazing non-stop view from a camera on the side of the Falcon, showing the earth falling away as it climbed toward space. Suddenly the feed vanished from all computer screens and was replaced by the two commentators,who announced that the flight has experienced an anomaly and more details would be forthcoming on their website. After that, the webcast was ended. A little while later, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk issued a statement, stating that the rocket failed to reach orbit. A few days later, Musk issued a further statement, reporting that the failure of the launch was caused by a design flaw. In a video of the launch, which can been seen on their website, one clearly sees that the first stage separated, but then crashed into the second stage, causing the rocket to be destroyed, or as Musk put it, “...a little cooked.” The end result was that the ashes on board were scattered over a large portion of the Pacific Ocean. Space Services, Inc., the company who sells these memorial flights, have reported that they have other portions of the individuals ashes and that another attempt would be made to place them in orbit.

Normally, any story about a failed launch would end about here, but this one can not. A few days after the failed launch, I discovered a post from Wil Wheaton on his blog, which literally brought me to tears. In that post, Wil quoted from, and included a link to a post from Ehrich Blackhound (According to him, Blackhound is an Irish translation), one of Mr. Doohan's sons, commenting on this recent failed attempt to fulfill his father's last wish, to be shot into space. In the post, in which it is made clear that the author speaks for himself and not for the entire Doohan family, Ehrich wrote:

“There have been many attempts to send my father on his way. On Saturday, the latest launch attempt by Space X, with a portion of my father's remains aboard, failed to achieve orbit. While there are many complicated reasons why this is a disappointment, mine is simple: I'd like to finish saying goodbye.

Every launch attempt is like reliving his funeral. There's a lot of pomp and ceremony, and a retelling of his deeds in life, but at the end of these funerals, something goes awry, the body doesn't get buried and you know you're going to have to come back to do it over again.”

All of us can surely understand the horror and heartbreak of Ehrich in this matter. I can not even think of having to relive my mother's funeral over and over like this, nor could any one else I believe. I can not fault Ehrich for his feelings in the matter. Frankly, I applaud his openness in sharing his feelings with all of us.

In his blog, Wil made a comment that I want to join him in. Why can't NASA allowed a small cylinder to be placed in the cargo bay of a shuttle flight and allow it to be jettisoned into orbit by the shuttle when it reaches the proper orbit? The families who trusted Space Services, Inc., to place their loved ones in space deserve better than this.

So, NASA, how about lending a hand and giving these families the peace of having granted their loved one's final wish?

Think about it.

Photos:  Wikipedia

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