Montgomery "Scotty" Scott of the Star Trek fame has finally taken his place among the stars after his death. His cremated remains were shot into orbit from Spaceport America, a launch site south of the New Mexico desert.

Scotty is James Doohan in real life and had his ashes honored along with those of Colonel Gordon Cooper, a real-life astronaut. A medium-sized crowd of fans, family, and friends were there to cheer the rocket that carried the two luminaries 70 miles above the surface.

Doohan and Cooper's wives were there to "press the launch button" after the countdown. Both women expressed their appreciation and sense of honor that their great husbands shared the same vessel for a very emotional event.

Space America is a commercial establishment which seeks to pioneer space tourism in the U.S. A gram of ashes aboard the small pod that the service launches is charged US$ 500. The remains won't remain in space, though. A capsule containing the remains will detach in the late stages of the flight and float back to the ground with parachutes. Those who want the ashes of loved ones aboard a one-way trip to deep space will have to wait until 2009 for the option.

Scotty was most famous for the immortal line "Beam me aboard, Scotty." Strangely enough, the line was never uttered in the series. The closest was "Scotty, beam me up" by Captain Kirk in the fourth movie. It's essentially an urban legend of a line comparable to stories of crocodiles in sewers and The Ultimate Warrior dying of a heart attack after he lifted Andre the Giant.