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Nichelle Nichols’ Ashes Blasted Into Space, So Lt. Uhura Will Always Be Among the Stars

Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura is going home, back among the stars. Actress Nichelle Nichols, who passed away on July 30, 2022, and who famously brought Uhura to life on the small and big screen as part of the Star Trek universe, will be making one final trip, to come to her resting place in the sky.
Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle Nichols 10 photos
Photo: CBS / Paramount
Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle NicholsNichelle Nichols, who played Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in Star TrekNichelle Nichols, who played Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in Star TrekCommunications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle NicholsCommunications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle NicholsCommunications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle NicholsCommunications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle NicholsCommunications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek, as portrayed by Nichelle NicholsNichelle Nichols, who played Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura in Star Trek
Nichelle Nichols wrote history the moment she was cast as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek, way back in 1966. She was one of the first Black leading characters on television, and it gave her a huge platform she always tried to capitalize upon to further racial and gender equality and, later on, to promote diversity within STEM fields with NASA’s help and representation and civil rights in general. There is no way one can overestimate Nichols’ contribution to several industries and to the civil rights movement, nor is there to overstate the importance of the stereotype-shattering character she brought to life.

If you’re not well versed in Star Trek mythology, the first video available at the bottom of the page shows the ten most memorable and culturally significant Uhura moments in the history of the series. The second one shows that, in addition to all these great things, Nichols was also a very awesome, highly intelligent, talented, and funny woman.

Despite her close collaboration with NASA and her extended involvement in many things related to space exploration, Nichols herself never got even close to flying there. She will do so now, as she will travel to her final resting place at Celestis’ “graveyard orbit” around the sun.

Celestis is a Texas-based company that provides people with the chance to “travel” to space or to send the ashes of their loved ones there as a final, ultimate tribute. Later this year, atop United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, Celestis will blast off over 200 flight capsules containing, among others, the ashes of Star Trek legends like Nichols.

Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, has provided ash samples for the Enterprise Flight (and his own DNA, so he can join his mother on this final but most impressive journey). Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife Majel Barret, James Doohan aka Scotty, and VFX specialist Douglas Trumbull will also be included on this tribute flight. Doohan’s ashes were also sent clandestinely to the ISS (International Space Station) in 2008, with help from video game developer Richard Garriott; you could say he’s the most experienced deceased space traveler out there.

The Vulcan rocket will send Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander toward the moon, but the flight capsules will continue on their journey. Celestis says that Enterprise Flight will travel between 93 million and 186 million miles (150 million and 300 million km) into deep space. With the ashes of the Star Trek legends go messages from fans, including letters, fanfiction and photographs, digitized, using the Celestis Mindfile.

“I’m sure she would have much preferred to go on the shuttle, but this was a pretty close second,” Johnson says in a statement. Enterprise Flight launches out of Cape Canaveral, in Florida, later this year.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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