# Scotty beams back down to Earth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 19, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692 "2007-05-19T04:09:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/1 "2007-05-19T04:09:23Z")
[Scotty’s orbiting ashes recovered](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6671887.stm) > [@](#): > > The ashes of late Star Trek actor James Doohan have been found in mountains in the US state of New Mexico, where they landed after a brief flight in space. Look at the bright side - now the sci-fi tourists going to Roswell have a new pilgrimage site. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/2 "2007-05-19T04:47:06Z")
Wait…when you pay to have your ashes launched into space, you mean they don’t _stay up there_? I’d want a refund. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/3 "2007-05-19T05:45:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Wait…when you pay to have your ashes launched into space, you mean they don’t stay up there? Like you, I had assumed that when somebody’s remains were launched into space they were going off to infinity. Not spending four minutes getting blasting through the higher levels of the atmosphere before crashing into a mountain. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/4 "2007-05-19T13:47:52Z")
I find it a little weird that the BBC article gives Gordon Cooper, a genuine astronaut, second billing to James Doohan. Understandable, but still weird. Dang. Mr. Scott’s remains, fired into space, then lost for three weeks in the wilderness of New Mexico. That’s got to be right near the top of the list of Trek collectibles. And here I’ve got several days’ vacation time saved up and everything. If I’d only known… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/5 "2007-05-19T17:16:27Z")
If you’re going to risk your life hiking through mountains in the middle of a storm to recover the remains of a dead TV actor, shouldn’t you at least hold out for one who was listed in the opening credits? ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/6 "2007-05-19T17:41:53Z")
Well I did say it was _near_ the top of the list of Trek collectibles, not the very top… On the other hand, who knows if any of the others will even be as conveniently available? Kelley’s ashes were scattered at sea… Shatner might want his remains scattered over the hood of a sedan while speeding through Los Angeles traffic, or perhaps mixed in with the printer’s ink used for publication of _The Complete Annotated TekWar_. ---
**Author:** ![el\_nombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9dc877/32.png) [@el\_nombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/el_nombre)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2007, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotty-beams-back-down-to-earth/404692/7 "2007-05-21T20:41:19Z")
Aren’t you supposed to release the ashes so they can blow away in the (solar) wind? Next time somebody does this be sure to open the urn.