Space, the final frontier for Star Trek's Scotty

NEW YORK - The remains of actor James Doohan, who played the starship Enterprise's chief engineer "Scotty" on Star Trek, will be blasted into space in October, the company organising the flight said today.

The actor who inspired the catchphrase "Beam me up, Scotty" -- even though it was never actually uttered on the show -- died a year ago at the age of 85.

On the program, when Captain James Kirk ventured off the spaceship Enterprise and faced peril, he would demand Scotty "beam" him back up to the safety of the ship.

Houston-based commercial company Space Services originally planned to blast Doohan's remains into space last year but the flight was delayed to allow more tests on the rocket.

Space Services spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld said the new launch date was set for October. Doohan's ashes will be blasted up along with the remains of around 100 other people, including astronaut Gordon Cooper, who first went to space in 1963.

After a short flight the rocket will return to earth with the capsules holding the remains. A second flight in December or January will send a capsule containing Doohan's remains into orbit where it will remain for several years, Schonfeld said.

"Whatever goes up must come down," Schonfeld said, adding that the capsule would eventually drop out of orbit and burn up in the earth's atmosphere.

To mark the flight to his final frontier, Doohan's family will hold a service for fans on the day of the launch to pay tribute to him, and Schonfeld said thousands were expected to turn up, many in costumes from Star Trek.

"Fan clubs from all over the world, including as far away as Africa, they're ready," Schonfeld said.

The company previously blasted the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry into space in 1997.

- REUTERS