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NASA appreciated the act of businessman and space tourist Richard Garriott, who brought the ashes of Star Trek actor James Doohan to the International Space Station (ISS). RIA Novosti reports.
The American department, in particular, recalled that Garriott was a member of the space flight from Roscosmos, and therefore advised him to contact his Russian colleagues or an entrepreneur directly. “NASA has a long cultural relationship with Star Trek and can appreciate the interest of fans around the world in this story,” said the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Hero of Russia, cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov, the former commander of the Soyuz spacecraft, on which Garriott took off, condemned the businessman's act. Astronautics expert Andrei Ionin told RIA Novosti that covert delivery of uncoordinated cargo to the ISS is dangerous. This could lead to the fall of the station to Earth and pose a threat to the crew members.
On December 29, it became known that the ashes of the Star Trek star had been secretly stored on the ISS for 12 years. His son Chris asked Garriott to bring his father's ashes to the ISS, laminated into his portrait. In October 2008, a businessman who went to the station as a space tourist managed to bring a photograph to the ISS and hide it under the inner cover of the European module Columbus.
According to the businessman, this was done top secret. Garriott, fearing a fine, asked the actor's relatives not to make this fact public. Dukhan's family was glad that his ashes were on board the ISS, although they were upset that it could not be revealed publicly.
Canadian actor James Doohan rose to fame as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in Star Trek and its sequels. He died in 2005 at the age of 85.
