Editing Gene Roddenberry (section)

===Spaceflight===
In 1992, some of Roddenberry's ashes were flown into space, and returned to Earth, on the [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] mission [[STS-52]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19940429&id=bUMvAAAAIBAJ&pg=1725,8689414|title=Shuttle bore Roddenberry's ashes|work=[[Rome News-Tribune]]|date=April 29, 1994|access-date=August 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Zwecker|first1=Bill|title=Gene Roddenberry Goes Boldly|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4226265.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402154741/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4226265.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2015|work=Chicago Sun-Times|date=April 29, 2014|url-access=}}</ref> On April 21, 1997,<ref name=founders/> a [[Celestis| Celestis spacecraft]] with {{convert|7|g|oz|frac=4}} of the cremated remains of Roddenberry,<ref>{{cite journal|title=Launching the Great Bird|journal=Star Trek Monthly|date=May 1997|volume=1|issue=27|page=5}}</ref> along with those of [[Timothy Leary]], [[Gerard K. O'Neill]] and 21 other people, was launched into Earth orbit as part of the [[Minisat 01]] mission aboard a [[Pegasus (rocket)|Pegasus XL]] rocket from a location near the [[Canary Islands]].<ref name=founders>{{cite web|title=The Founders Flight|url=http://www.celestis.com/foundersFlight.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208052016/http://www.celestis.com/foundersFlight.asp|archive-date=February 8, 2014|publisher=Celestis|access-date=April 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Seligmann|first1=Jean|title=Ashes Away|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19360616.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402123519/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-19360616.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2015|work=Newsweek|date=May 5, 1997|url-access= }}</ref>

On May 20, 2002, the spacecraft's orbit deteriorated and it disintegrated in the atmosphere. Another flight to launch more of his ashes into deep space, along with those of Barrett, who died in 2008, was initially planned to take place in 2009. Unlike previous flights, the intention was that the flight would not return burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gene Roddenberry, wife to spend eternity in space|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-D95VG5600.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144137/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1A1-D95VG5600.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 2, 2015|access-date=March 22, 2015|agency=Associated Press|date=January 27, 2009|url-access= }}</ref> The payload would include the ashes of [[James Doohan]] in addition to the Roddenberrys' and several others and was scheduled to fly in 2016 on the [[Sunjammer (spacecraft)|Sunjammer]] solar sail experiment,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Sunjammer Flight is projected to launch in 2016|url=http://www.celestis.com/memorial/sunjammer/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018184953/http://www.celestis.com/memorial/sunjammer/|archive-date=October 18, 2014|publisher=Celestis|access-date=April 26, 2015}}</ref> but the project was canceled in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=NASA Nixes Sunjammer Mission, Cites Integration, Schedule Risk|url=http://spacenews.com/42227nasa-nixes-sunjammer-mission-cites-integration-schedule-risk/|access-date=April 25, 2017|date=October 17, 2014}}</ref> Celestis rescheduled their launch for 2020, then later rescheduled for June 2022, the next available commercial mission to deep space.<ref name="enterprise-flight.com">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-13 |title=Enterprise Flight into Deep Space DNA Launch {{!}} Celestis® |url=https://enterprise-flight.com/dna/ |access-date=2023-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313170101/https://enterprise-flight.com/dna/ |archive-date=March 13, 2022 }}</ref> A sample of the couple's cremated remains will be sealed into a specially made capsule designed to withstand space travel. A spacecraft will carry the capsule, along with digitized tributes from fans, on Celestis' "Enterprise Flight".<ref name="enterprise-flight.com"/> The flight will also contain the ashes of [[Nichelle Nichols]] and [[Douglas Trumbull]].<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Reuters |date=2022-08-26 |title=Nichelle Nichols to become latest Star Trek star to have ashes sent into space |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/aug/26/nichelle-nichols-star-trek-ashes-space |access-date=2023-07-27 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The Celestis "Enterprise Flight" was successfully launched from [[Cape Canaveral, Florida]] on January 8, 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.celestis.com/launch-schedule/enterprise-flight/ |title = Enterprise Flight }}</ref>