‘Star Trek’ Legend Nichelle Nichols’ Ashes Launching To Deep Space On Vulcan Rocket

Nichelle Nichols will forever be remembered for playing the iconic character Nyota Uhura on the television series Star Trek. The actress’s portrayal of the character is often credited with opening doors for many black actors and actresses on television. With three of her Enterprise crewmates, Nichols is returning to space as part of a poignant mission to place their ashes in orbit.

The ashes of Nichelle, who played Lieutenant Uhura and died in July, will be included in the cargo of a Vulcan rocket. According to TMZ, the rocket will launch later this year for the moon and beyond.

The Vulcan Centaur mission from United Launch Alliance will initially deliver a robotic lunar lander in order to scout for NASA’s upcoming Artemis moon missions. It will then continue deeper into the solar system for the “Star Trek” tribute.

The rocket will place Nichelle’s remains in a so-called “graveyard orbit” around the Sun. Her ashes will be joined with those of “Star Trek” inventor Gene Roddenberry, James Doohan, and Majel Barrett Roddenberry. The ‘Trek’ greats’ final flight will be aboard a “Vulcan” rocket ship.

Nichelle Johnson’s son Kyle Johnson also commented on this. “I’m sure she would have much preferred to go on the shuttle, but this was a pretty close second.” Nichols was employed by NASA to encourage members of the Black community to become astronauts. She became the first African American woman to have her handprints engraved in the TCL Chinese Theater in 1991. Stay tuned to Thirsty for latest news and updates.

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