London, Aug 7 : Star Trek star James Doohan’s ashes have gone missing after being launched into space.

The actor, who played Scotty in the hit series had made the request in his will.

In December 2006, some of Doohan''s remains were to be rocketed into space for the first time, but was delayed.

Doohan died of Alzheimer''s disease and pneumonia in July 2005 at the age of 85. His ashes were among the 208 people who had paid to have their remains fired into space aboard Falcon 1, reports BBC

In the second attempt, the remains were sent into orbit by a company that offers a space burial service when the rocket malfunctioned minutes after take-off.

The aircraft failed around two minutes into the launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The SpaceX''s engineers are investigating the cause of the failure.

Doohan’s role of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the hit TV series inspired many fans to choose engineering as profession. (ANI)