Wende C. Doohan, the widow of
James Doohan, extends a special invitation to
Star Trek fans to attend the public memorial for her husband in New Mexico on April 27, and the launch of a portion of his cremated remains into space on April 28.
"It would be great to see all of Jimmy's fans out at the memorial and launch," Ms. Doohan said. "Jimmy would be very pleased for his fans to be around him at his send-off."
Since our last report, more specific details have been posted by Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, a subsidiary of Space Services Inc. (SSI), about that weekend's events, and Celestis is also requesting that fans RSVP online by Saturday, April 21, to aid them in planning. Celestis is working with the state of New Mexico to arrange public viewing areas for the launch at Spaceport America, so the better idea they have on the numbers to anticipate, the better prepared they'll be to accommodate visitors. Plus, the museum where the memorial will take place also needs to know what kind of crowd to anticipate.
To submit your RSVP, please visit this SpaceServicesInc.com link. On that page, there is a menu labeled "I will attend the events as..." Select "Fan of a participant" from that menu. You will then be directed to another page with the reservation form. Under "I will attend the events on behalf of..." fill in the name James Doohan, and if you are so inclined, John Meredyth Lucas and astronaut Gordon Cooper, who are also participants in the Legacy Flight.
After filling out the form with your info, check "I will attend the public memorial service on Friday, April 27th..." if you can be at that event. For the Saturday launch, check either "VIP launch viewing" or "public viewing location (free of charge)". Fill in other names in your group — up to four — and below that, be sure to check both disclaimers before clicking the "Submit" button. The confirmation page that comes up says that additional information and final event details will be e-mailed to all registered guests on April 22, which is the Sunday before the event.
Reservations will still be taken after the 21st for the Friday memorial, but not the launch viewing. Regardless, Celestis strongly requests you still RSVP by then.
The itinerary for the Legacy Flight weekend is posted at this MemorialSpaceflights.com link. Please review this page carefully. It also contains links for "Lodging" information, "Directions," etc. The city of Las Cruces will be the center of activities, but hotels there are filling up fast because of high interest among the press, so you may want to book a room in Alamogordo (where the memorial will take place) or Truth or Consequences (which is near Spaceport America).
Guest registration begins Thursday afternoon, April 26, at the Marriott TownePlace Suites in Las Cruces, which will serve as Celestis headquarters. Friday morning, tours of the launch pad at Spaceport America will be available. Buses leave from Las Cruces. Private cars are not permitted to the spaceport.
Friday afternoon, April 27, the public memorial for Doohan, Cooper, Lucas and all other Legacy Flight participants will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamagordo (about 70 miles northeast of Las Cruces). Wende Doohan will be present at that memorial, along with other special guests to be announced later. Afterwards at 5:00, a private reception will be held for family members and loved ones of the flight participants.
Saturday morning, buses depart for Spaceport America at 6:30 a.m. This schedule pertains to those with reservations at the VIP viewing site. Information on the free public viewing areas is forthcoming.
The launch window begins at 8:30 a.m. There is a six-hour window on Saturday, during which the launch can occur at any time. If conditions are favorable, the launch should take place in the morning. However, please note that delays may occur at any point prior to liftoff for any number of reasons. Sunday, April 29, has been deemed the "Launch Scrub Day" which means that, if for any reason the Legacy Flight does not occur on Saturday, the next attempt will be made on Sunday. When you book your flight, you may want to take this into account (i.e., leave yourself the option to change flight times). Again, please read the Itinerary page completely. SSI and Celestis are not responsible for any damages, losses, or expenses you may incur if the launch does not take place on the planned date.
By the way, if you do fly in, you will want to book your flight to El Paso, which is 50 miles south of Las Cruces.
Some things to keep in mind about attending the launch: Whether you're at the VIP site or the public viewing area, you'll be in the desert, possibly for several hours. Bring water, food, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, a sweater, and maybe even your own chair. Also, the viewing sites will be at least two miles from the launch pad, so you'll probably need binoculars or a camera with a strong zoom lens.
Also keep in mind that this launch, visually speaking, will be nothing like a Space Shuttle or Saturn V launch by NASA. This is a small rocket, designed to take its payload into a sub-orbital trajectory and then parachute back to the ground, after which the participants' remains will be recovered and returned to the families, having achieved symbolic astronaut status. (See top picture at left.)
To get an idea of what to expect from the launch viewing experience, watch this UP Aerospace video.
Spaceport America, for your information, is little more right now than a large parcel of land with a single launch pad. Constructions plans are being made right now — using a combination of private and public funds — to build out a fully operational facility by 2009-10, which will serve as the headquarters of Virgin Galactic. But right now, it's a remote desert location that's rather hard to get to, so that's why private transportation to the spaceport is prohibited, and you must rely on the bus transportation provided.
Follow the links below for more information about the events and locations of the Legacy Flight and memorial, and we'll see you in New Mexico in two weeks!
