The memorial spaceflight intended to launch a portion of James Doohan's ashes into space from a New Mexico spaceport will not take place the weekend of October 20 as originally scheduled.

Space Services Inc., aka Celestis, contracted with UP Aerospace to attach the memorial payload to a SpaceLoft XL-1 rocket, but a test launch of that vehicle last week failed to achieve the proper altitude. The company is now investigating. (Related Space.com story.)

UP Aerospace plans to reschedule the flight with the memorial payload aboard, probably for a November date, and probably from the same location. We will bring you updates as we receive them.

The October 21 launch, dubbed "The Legacy Flight," was to occur in conjunction with the X-Prize Cup taking place at the Las Cruces International Airport in New Mexico (related story). A public memorial for Doohan would have been held a day prior. The memorial will also be rescheduled once a new launch date is determined.

A spokesperson for Celestis pointed out that launch failures for new rockets are not uncommon, especially in the burgeoning private space industry.

For more information and updates, visit the Celestis link shown below.