‘Star Trek’ star’s ashes headed to space

The ashes of Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura in the original “Star Trek” television series and died in July, will be launched into space later this year.

Celestis, a private spaceflight company that works with NASA, will carry her ashes on a rocket set to travel beyond the Earth-moon system and the James Webb telescope.

Nichols, one of the first Black women to have a leading role on a network television series, died at age 89 from heart failure.

As Uhura, Nichols was not only a pioneering actor, but she was also credited with inspiring women and people of color to join NASA.