Gloria Knowlan never dreamt of boldly going where no one had gone before and was content to leave the journey to the B次元官网网址淪tar TrekB次元官网网址� actors she came to love, but 12 years after her death, her family has ensured the final frontier will be her ultimate resting place.

It seemed a fitting tribute for the Vancouver mother of eight, whose love of Trek prompted her to collect replica starships and deck out her Christmas tree each year with a homemade alien spacecraft known as the Borg cube, complete with working lights.

A small quantity of KnowlanB次元官网网址檚 ashes will be among approximately 250 capsules of human remains, DNA samples and other memorials set to be launched into space later this month aboard a rocket. Launch organizers are hoping it will wind up approximately 330 million kilometres from Earth, roughly passed the orbit of Mars.

The flight will see Knowlan, who was 86 at the time of her death, joining some of her favourite stars. The rocket is also set to carry remains or DNA samples of B次元官网网址淪tar TrekB次元官网网址� creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry and Original Series stars Nichelle Nichols, DeForest Kelley and fellow Canadian James Doohan.

Rod Knowlan said he thinks his mom would be B次元官网网址渏ust tickledB次元官网网址� by the idea that a part of her remains were going to space alongside some of the people she saw on TV.

He said after his father died in 2002 his mother dove headlong into things she loved, including the show.

B次元官网网址淪he was a fan of B次元官网网址楽tar Trek,B次元官网网址� of the concept, from the outset,B次元官网网址� he said in a telephone interview. B次元官网网址淪he was a fan of Gene RoddenberryB次元官网网址檚 and she loved whatever work that he did.B次元官网网址�

Gloria KnowlanB次元官网网址檚 final journey will take place through American company Celestis Inc., which has been offering what it calls B次元官网网址渕emorial space flightsB次元官网网址� for more than two decades.

For prices ranging from a few thousand dollars up to $13,000, the company will take small capsules of ashes to space and either return them, drop them in EarthB次元官网网址檚 orbit or even take them to the moon as a memorial for lost loved ones.

Co-founder and CEO Charles Chafer said the rocket carrying KnowlanB次元官网网址檚 remains, set to take off from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Jan. 8, will mark the first time the company has offered a trip that will go into B次元官网网址渄eep spaceB次元官网网址� meaning the capsules wonB次元官网网址檛 eventually fall to Earth. The journey has been dubbed the enterprise flight, he added.

B次元官网网址淚 believe itB次元官网网址檚 an awful lot like why people choose to be scattered at sea. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a calling there. ThereB次元官网网址檚 something about the sea that either interests them or attracts them as a location for a memorial service,B次元官网网址� Chafer said.

B次元官网网址淲e are more and more in this country, and in other countries, focusing less and less on the traditional and more and more on the personal when it comes to, B次元官网网址榟ow do I want my life celebrated?B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

The capsules will be taken into space by the commercially-owned, and aptly named, Vulcan rocket.

Chafer said the main purpose of the trip is for the rocket to test its capabilities to become the first commercial spacecraft to land on the moon, and his companyB次元官网网址檚 cargo is being brought along to serve a B次元官网网址渟econdaryB次元官网网址� purpose.

He said some capsules onboard are being left at the moon, while those that are part of the enterprise trip will travel further afield.

He said theyB次元官网网址檒l travel for B次元官网网址渁t least a few monthsB次元官网网址� before arriving at their final orbit location.

Ashes belonging to many of the B次元官网网址淪tar TrekB次元官网网址� stars have already been part of earlier Celestis flights, but Chafer said he promised Majel Barrett Roddenberry in 1996 that he would eventually take some of the coupleB次元官网网址檚 ashes and fly them on a B次元官网网址渇orever mission.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎nd of course, being 28 years old, and not having any better idea than B次元官网网址業 think we can do it,B次元官网网址� I said yes.B次元官网网址�

Chafer said trips like the ones Celestis offer only became possible recently thanks to evolving technology, adding family members and friends of the other Trek stars quickly bought into the idea.

Ashes belonging to Doohan, best known as chief engineer Montgomery B次元官网网址淪cottyB次元官网网址� Scott, have gone to space aboard previous Celestis flights as well as to the International Space Station.

His widow, Wende Doohan, said being in space is something he always wanted.

B次元官网网址淚f anybody had offered him a seat on the space shuttle, he would have jumped at it. But he was too old to somehow finagle a seat on one of those things that went into space,B次元官网网址� she said.

Wende Doohan said her husband would have enjoyed the fact that this trip includes fans like Knowlan.

B次元官网网址淗e loved his fans. He loved hearing their stories. He enjoyed chatting with them,B次元官网网址� she said.

She said she decided to include a sample of her DNA on the flight and plans to be at the launch in person.

She said sending her husbandB次元官网网址檚 ashes into deep space and knowing that they will never return makes this experience feel different than previous flights.

B次元官网网址淭o me, that kind of illustrates the poignancy of Star Trek, you know? Going where no man has gone before,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淎nd it just kind of feels like itB次元官网网址檚 emulating that journey, in a way.B次元官网网址�

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