Abu Nichelle Nichols Actor Lieutenant Nyota Uhura In Star Trek Will Be Sent To Space

Nichelle Nichols, the actress who plays Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. (photo: twitter @soapcentral)

JAKARTA - Abu Nichelle Nichols, the actress who plays Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, will be sent into space on a rocket in memory of herself and several other Star Trek veterans. Nichols' son, Kyle Johnson, donated his ashes after the senior actress died last July aged 89.

Abu Nichols will be taken into space on a rocket called the virtual Centaur, by space aviation company Celestis, which carries out the "Company Aviation" mission. There is still no definite date set for this delivery, and it will likely depend on the ongoing development of the United Launch Alliance rocket.

During the mission, Nichols' ashes will join the remnants of Star Trek's creator Gene Roddenberry and his wife, Majel Barrett, who plays nurse in Christine Chapel's series. James Doohan, who acts as Enterprise engineer,amaly, and visual securities artist Douglas Trumbull, is known for his work in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, and many others, will also join.

When a rocket takes off from Cape Canaveral, the rocket will carry more than 200 capsules containing ash, DNA samples, as well as the names, messages, and images given by users from around the world. The Celestis will store the capsule at the top of the rocket, which will be delivered between 150 million and 300 million kilometers into space and orbit the Sun.

Nichols was the pioneer in the film industry and became the first black woman to play a major role on television. His legacy also extends off-the-scenes, as he served as NASA's advocate to encourage the recruitment of astronauts from underrepresented backgrounds.

He was lauded for helping to bring the first black man, Colonel Guion Bluford, and the first woman, target Ride, into space.