Star Trek couple's space race

It's death Jim but not as we know it

The creator of "Star Trek" and his wife will spend eternity together in space.

Celestis, a company that specialises in "memorial spaceflights", has said that it will ship the remains of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry into space next year.

The couple's cremated remains will be sealed into specially made capsules designed to withstand the rigors of space travel.

A rocket-launched spacecraft will carry the capsules, along with digitised tributes from fans.

The Roddenberrys' remains - and the spacecraft - will travel ever deeper into space and will not return to earth, company spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld said.

After Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, his wife commissioned Celestis to launch a part of his remains into space in 1997. She died on December 18, 2008.