Scotty's ashes missing in crash

James Doohan starred in the original Star Trek series on TV

Some of the ashes of actor James Doohan, who played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in Star Trek have gone missing.

The remains were being sent into orbit by a company that offers a space burial service when the rocket carrying them malfunctioned minutes after take-off.

This is the second unsuccessful attempt to launch a portion of Canadian-born Doohan's remains into space - an act he requested in his will.

Doohan died of Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia in July 2005 aged 85.

The actor's ashes were among those of 208 people who had paid to have their remains fired into space aboard Falcon 1.

The craft failed around two minutes into the launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX's engineers are still investigating the cause of the rocket's failure.

Doohan's characterisation of the Scottish Chief Engineer of the Starship Enterprise inspired many fans to to choose engineering as a profession.