A heartwarming story of promise , family , and a little bit of international espionage .

As revealed in a fascinating paper byThe Timesin the United Kingdom , some of the ash tree of James Doohan , Star Trek ’s originalScotty , now live on control board of the International Space Station . They ’ve been there since 2008 , and until now it ’s been a mystery .

The enactor of this heartwarming plot of ground was Richard Garriot , an enterpriser who became , in 2008 , one of the first private citizens to go into space . After being asked by the Doohan family to help fulfill the later James ’s wishes — to find his way to quad after decease — Garriot and Doohan ’s son Chris concocted a plan , which involve on the Q.T. sneaking a laminated card control some of Doohan ’s ashes onto the International Space Station .

The late James Doohan as Scotty.

The late James Doohan as Scotty.Image: CBS/Viacom

It was completely secret … His menage were very proud of that the ashes made it up there but we were all let down we did n’t get to utter about it publicly for so long . Now enough time has passed that we can , ” Garriott said .

The plan was concoct after Garriott had already registered his items for the trip , so so as to make trusted it was carried out , he kept it a mystery from the people in charge of the deputation . Which I think is a offense ? That sounds like some sort of crime . But it is perhaps the most heartwarming offence I can think of .

This would end up being the first time Doohan ’s ashes ended up in space , but it was n’t the last . Some were also carried to space aboard a SpaceX Eruca sativa in 2012 , aftera break flightin 2008 .

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https://gizmodo.com/james-doohans-son-speaks-up-poignantly-about-failed-spa-5033144

“ Richard said ‘ We ’ve acquire to keep this hush hush for a little while ’ and here we are 12 year later . What he did was touching — it mean so much to me , so much to my home and it would have meant so much to my dad , ” Chris Doohan say .

James Doohan , who played Scotty on the original Star Trek , pass along aside in 2005 , and has been in space since 2008 . Reportedly , his ashes have move around almost 1.7 billion miles through space , orb the major planet more than 70,000 time . transmit me up indeed .

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., holding a chainsaw in a photo posted to Kennedy’s X account on May 27. 2025.

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