As many of you know, some of Jimmy Doohan’s remains were originally slated to be launched into space back in 2008.  Unfortunately, when the rocket failed to reach orbit that dream wasn’t realized.  Celestis, the company responsible for making sure that tribute happens, has contracted with SpaceX to launch Jimmy’s ashes on the next Falcon 9 launch.  The new mission was scheduled for launch yesterday (May 19th), but due to a malfunction it’s been rescheduled for Tuesday May 22nd. 

SpaceX had this to say about the postponed launch; Today’s launch was aborted when the flight computer detected slightly high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber. We have discovered root cause and repairs are underway.

During rigorous inspections of the engine, SpaceX engineers discovered a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine. We are now in the process of replacing the failed valve. Those repairs should be complete tonight. We will continue to review data on Sunday.

If things look good, we will be ready to attempt to launch on Tuesday, May 22nd at 3:44 AM Eastern.

Godspeed, Jimmy.  We hope everything goes as planned and finally get your resting place among the heavens.

Check out the SpaceX website here for updates on the launch.