May 2007: Scotty’s ashes lost in the mountains:

The ashes of late Star Trek actor James Doohan have been found in mountains in the US state of New Mexico, where they landed after a brief flight in space. The capsule containing his remains – and those of 200 other people – had been missing for three weeks, after falling back to earth from sub-orbit. A rocket operated by a private company fired the remains to a height of 72.7 miles (117 km) – the edge of space.

Today: Scotty’s ashes lost in the Pacific:

A privately held rocket company on Wednesday blamed a design error for its latest failure to reach orbit, which caused the loss of three government satellites and human ashes, including the remains of astronaut Gordon Cooper and “Star Trek” actor James Doohan.The two-stage Falcon 1 rocket, which blasted off from a Central Pacific atoll Saturday night, separated as planned on its way to space, but leftover thrust after engine cutoff caused the first stage to fall back and hit the second stage, according to Hawthorne-based SpaceX.The rocket, containing the remains of 208 people, dropped in the Pacific and was not recovered.

I’m not sure if they’re sending Scotty to space in parts or if all of his ashes are now lost. We’ll find out at the end of the month when this company decides to light up another rocket and its inevitable payload of dead celebrities.:

SpaceX plans to launch another Falcon 1 as early as next month.
Besides the Falcon 1, SpaceX is developing for NASA a larger launch vehicle, Falcon 9, capable of flying to the international space station when the current space shuttle fleet retires in 2010.

I hope they put the space station at the bottom of the ocean; that way, the Falcon 1 will at least be able to complete one mission.