Over the course of her celebrated sixty-year career,Nichelle Nicholsbecame synonymous with space. Best known for her acclaimed and groundbreaking performance as Nyota Uhura inStar Trek The Original Seriesand itssubsequent film sequels, the actress also frequently volunteered withNASA, promoting its programs and doing her part to recruit astronauts of various genders and ethnicities. Though she was often Earth-bound in her endeavors, Nichols ultimately paved the way for outer space to be explored by people of all backgrounds. As such, it’s quite fitting, in that sense, that her final resting place will be among the stars.
AsTHRreported,Celetis Inc., a private space flight company that works with NASA, will send a United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket as part of its upcoming Enterprise flight. When the spacecraft is launched into the sky, which is scheduled to happen sometime this year, it’ll include some of the late actress' ashes. From there, Nichols will be able to transverse across the wide recesses of the galaxy, in what will touchingly serve as her final mission. The flight will begin in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and it is slated to go into interplanetary deep space. The company claims the rocket will become “the most distant permanent human repository outpost, as well as a pathfinder for human exploration into outer space.”
It’s easy to see how Nichols' work onStar Trekinspired such an idea to become a reality. Though the actress, whopassed awayin July at 89, ultimately wasn’t an astronaut herself, her work on one of the most beloved sci-fi shows in television history is unquestionably a source of inspiration, imagination, and wonder for audiences young and old, and it allowed people to dream about the possibility of traveling the dark recesses of deep space. It should also be noted that Nichols isn’t the onlyStar Trekalumnus whose ashes were sent out into the comets.Series creatorGene Roddenberryalso had his human remains spread through a number of Celetis missions, including one that launched back in 2014. Along with the departed actress, Roddenberry and his wife,Majel, as well as Nicols' frequent co-star,James “Scotty” Doohan, will also have cremated ashes on this flight. In this respect, they’ll all be able to explore strange new worlds together.
Nichelle Nichols Remembered By Hollywood
JoiningStar Trekonly a year after the Civil Rights Act was passed, Nichols' casting was a revolutionary one thatchanged television and science fiction forever. Though she considered leaving the show after the racism she received from network executives, Nichols famously received encouragement fromDr. Martin Luther King, which compelled her to push forward and, thus, allowed her to become a legend in this highly-influential series and eventual franchise and to open doors for Black women in entertainment. Through her work as communications officer Lieutenant Uhura, the actress became a pivotal icon in a growing medium of television, as well as the developing field of outer space exploration.Through her work with NASAafter the show’s end, Nichols inspired the likes ofDr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, and theUnited States Air Force Colonel Guion Bluford, the first Black astronaut, to change history for intergalactic travelers.
Later, in 2015, Nichols flew aboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, a.k.a. SOFIA, Boeing 747SP in its exploration of the atmospheres of Mars and Saturn. This eight-hour, high-altitude mission gave the actress a chance to do something that she could only do through the magic of television before: journey out into the wonders of space. Now, in her final departure, she’ll find herself in these same wondrous quarters once more, in what’ll serve as the ultimate tribute to her life and legacy.
