Ashes of woman sent to space, along with those of 'Star Trek's' 'Scotty'

SAN PEDRO, Calif. (KABC) -- When a Boston woman asked that her cremated remains be sent into space, she may have never imagined her ashes would go into orbit with those of 1960s "Star Trek" actor James Doohan, who played "Scotty."

The remains of Allyson Genest, Doohan and about 300 others were aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket when it went into orbit Tuesday as part of an in-space, for-profit burial business.

Genest's father, Robert Genest from San Pedro, was at Florida's Cape Canaveral to watch the launch and say a final goodbye to his daughter. The 38-year-old "Star Trek" fan died from melanoma in 1999.

"Here she is on the same rocket with Scotty and they're going up together. She couldn't have planned it that well. It was just pretty exciting for all of us," Genest said.

Genest's life partner, Michelle Sheridan, and his son were also in Florida for the launch.

"You felt the love that every one of the people there had for the person they were sending into space. It was absolutely almost touchable," said Sheridan.

How long the ashes will be in orbit depends on the final altitude. Families will be able to track the orbit through a website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Correction: The article previously said Allyson Genest was from San Pedro.

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los angeles news, melissa macbride

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