James Doohan’s son Erich wrote an essay about the failure of SpaceX to take is father’s ashes into orbit last week. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.
There have been many attempts to send my father on his way. On Saturday, the latest launch attempt by SpaceX, 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.
I knew Erich when we were kids, because he was good friends with my younger brother. He was around our house all the time, and I really liked him. I can’t imagine the pain of having to say goodbye to your father over and over again, and in public, no less.
Space shuttle astronauts are allowed to take small amounts of personal items with them into space. Surely there is someone on an upcoming mission who can help give Jimmy a proper burial, right?
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I wish I didn’t know how he feels, but I do.
When my dad died in November of ’06, we already knew what we were doing. Dad’s wishes were to be cremated and then have his ashes buried 4 specific places: The veterans cemetery in Washington County, a columbarium in Somerset (for us to visit without driving too far), with his first wife’s ashes in Maine, and on his uncle’s property up in Maine. We had Dad’s ashes buried in the two places in PA, then went up to Maine last year to finish the job. Or so we thought.
When we went up to Maine in April of ’07, the weather was so terrible that we could only give the part of his ashes for his first wife’s family to them and leave without burying the ashes at Uncle Charles’ cabin.
We’re going up next summer to bury the ashes on Uncle Charles’ property. I’m half considering telling my mother that I don’t want to go, because the first three times hurt bad enough.
If it’s going to be this much trouble, why not just bury him on Earth like everyone else?
Wow. This left me totally gutted.
I’m a minister and I always feel a deep sadness for people when someone dies in the winter but the burial can’t happen until spring.
Perhaps there are other places where his father’s ashes could be taken?
Nah, I guess if it’s James Doohan, space is the only place to be…
As a widow, I get how he feels about his father’s remains — I’d be heartbroken too. His father should be buried in space as was intended.
I did try to get my late husband’s remains scattered from a balloon or dirigible, but wasn’t successful at that.
It made me tear up reading it this morning, too. How sad for the family to have to go through this over and over again.
Couldn’t they even pack it in one of those Russian re-supply capsules they are always sending up to the ISS? The container couldn’t be that big.
@Mad Monk…that has been really hard for my family, with relatives on the east coast and finite funds, it has often come down to “we can come for the funeral now, or the burial in spring, but not both.”
There are 10 shuttle missions going up in the next 2 years. The trivial amount of weight in taking the ashes on the shuttle is greatly outweighed by the undeniable debt that NASA owes to Mr. Doohan. How many engineers there got their dreams kindled by the magical fingers of “The Miricle Worker” bringing life from certain death. When you think of Star Trek, no name is more asscoiated with it that “Scotty”. Even Kirk doesn’t have the recognition of “Beam me up, Scotty” (yes, I know it was never said but…) Mr. Doohan brought that role to life, and for many of us, we cannot thank him enough.
I was *just* reading this at BoingBoing. That is really heartbreaking, having to go thru it each time. Maybe someone with Space Adventures, Ltd might see this and take him (and astronaut Gordon Cooper) up. Richard Garriott (Origin Games) (a paid living passenger) is going in the fall. The remains are usually in a lipstick-sized tube.
Read that a little awhile ago as well. Wish there was something else that could be done. 🙁
According to wikipedia:
Almost two years after his death, approximately one-quarter ounce (7 grams) of Doohan’s ashes were sent into space,[11] as he had requested in his will. The ashes, along with those of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper as well as almost 200 others, were launched on the SpaceLoft XL rocket, on April 28, 2007, when the rocket briefly entered outer space in a four-minute suborbital flight before parachuting to earth, as planned, with the ashes still inside.[12] The ashes were subsequently launched on a Falcon 1 rocket, on 3 August 2008, into what was intended to be a low Earth orbit, however the rocket failed two minutes after launch.[13] The rest of his ashes were scattered over Puget Sound in Washington.[14][15]
So Jimmy’s got two launches and a burial at sea under his posthumous belt. The guys at NASA should take whatever’s left and just send it on the next mission to somewhere other than LEO.
There’s really nothing about this that isn’t sad. It’s also something of a cautionary tale, isn’t it? I bet if Mr. Doohan and others had known what heartache their “burial” requests would cause their family members, they might have come up with a different solution.
My heart goes out to Erich and the rest of his family!
Damn…that’s terrible! Doohan was so cool, poor old guy. I’m watching Relics on Spike right now….I can’t believe how old that episode is now. He was awesome.
Hey! Why don’t we just…or actually “They” just put him on the next shuttle and send him off? It’s our money, who would object? Put together a letter Wil, and I’ll put my signature on it. I’m sure we could get tons and tons of signatures.
rseppala: I believe “Relics” is airing on SciFi, not Spike.
It’s possible an astronaut could take the ashes as a personal item and it would not be publicized because of some NASA squeamishness about precedent or something. To actually leave them in space would require delivering them to ISS and then releasing them during a spacewalk, which would involve perhaps too many people to approve due to risk of damaging the solar panels and the reality spacewalks are dangerous and tightly scheduled. They did do a golf-ball stunt for money however so I suppose anything can be justified.
Googling around I found this awesome picture of Doohan in 1967 checking out the NASA lifting body aircraft, just a few weeks before it (or one just like it) would become the crash footage immortalized by The Six Million Dollar Man: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pingnews/493930663/
And I should have added, the guy with him in that photo is the pilot who survived that crash, who passed away in 2006 less than a year after Doohan.
I’m incredibly thankful and cognizant of the fact that I can’t relate. So, functionally speaking, what does it take? A petition? A fundraiser? My “Solve All Problems” button is notoriously out for repair.
I wish they could take my father (Mark Herschede, Jr) too. He was also on the Falcon 1 rocket when it failed to enter orbit. We’re all still waiting to hear from Celestis, who arranged this amazing thing. Its the hardest thing… We’ve waited for two years. Please let it just be over.
Ugh, that is so sad. I hope they get him up there.
“Relics” episode of TNG was on SciFi last night. I couldn’t NOT watch it.
–Jacque Chadall
Oh, dear. 🙁
I knew Eric – he interned at Wizards of the Coast, way back when. I can’t imagine how difficult this is for him.
My thoughts are with him and his family. . .
I agree. This needs to be a ‘make it happen’ type of situation.
I also agree with Texas1st in that the contribution to our space program is immesurable.
Inspiration, although not a quantitative idea, is a fundamental part of human achievement.
Mr. Doohan helped make ‘engineers’ cool. And that inspiration was/is more valuable than anyone can possibly account for.
My best wishes to Erich. I don’t have any flowery words – grief sucks, and hurts.
Yes, best wishes to Erich.
Somewhat OT, but surely to lighten moods, checkout today’s Slashdot poll, ‘Best Star (Wars or Trek) Battle’. Wesley going up against Jar-Jar!
That would be hard, to not get final closure. I pray on the next run they’re able to successfully say goodbye.
I caught that news as well, broke my heart too.
Beam “The Man” up already!
Wil, you or Ehrich should call the Huntsville AL Space Museum / Camp Gift Shop. The actual astronauts in training buy their training jump suits at that gift shop, and so can the general public. Bet they can pass on the request to the astronauts training there or Houston or Canaveral.
Next mission in October to Hubble, the remainder to the space station.
http://www.spacecamp.com/museum/ http://www.spacecampstore.com/contact.html
To speak to a Catalog Sales
Representative, please call
(256) 721-7120 or
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U.S. Space & Rocket Center
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Huntsville, AL 35805
They have various child and adult Space Camp, and the rates are roughly 150 a day, includes room and board, vs a hotel room that would run 100 a day.
Oh, and a new site, http://www.hulu.com/search/star+trek has free TOS episodes with about six 30 second ads per episode, high speed internet required.
So sad. Here’s hoping they can get James into orbit. He deserves no less.
FWIW, I just read in the paper today that Richard Garriott is heading to the ISS on a Soyuz this October. I don’t know him, but he would seem to be a sympathetic geek. Perhaps there’s time to contact him for just such a favor as this.
I’m with you. Jimmy was, at least for me, the most adored character of TOS. Scotty always got the cool jobs – beaming folks around, fixing the warp drive. I always had such great respect for the man, although I never had the pleasure of meeting him. I agree that it really isn’t so much to ask to find a way to get him into space. I’ll sign any petition, donate funds, write letters … if anyone has any solid plans, count me in. It’s the least I can do.
Wil, my name is Janna and I work for NCsoft, the company that Richard Garriott (who is going to the ISS in October) also works for. I hope you check comments on your blog. I would like to talk to you about your friend’s situation. I really don’t know that we can help due to all the rules and such, but it is worth discussing. I have been wanting to contact you for a related purpose as well and saw this posing just today. [email protected]