Remembering ‘Star Trek’ Creator Gene Roddenberry On His 92nd Birthday

Fans are remembering Star Trek's "Great Bird of the Galaxy" Gene Roddenberry on what would have been his 92nd birthday.

Fans of Star Trek along with the cast members from the various shows in the franchise have argued time and time again as to what Roddenberry's actual role in the creation and development of Star Trek actually amounted to. Regardless, all parties involved view Roddenberry as the creative genius that made it happen.

After decades of bringing outer space adventures to the world's television and motion picture screens, Roddenberry eventually reached outer space himself. A year after Roddenberry's death in 1991, a portion of his ashes flew into orbit and returned to Earth on board Space Shuttle Columbia. Later, in April 1997, a Celestis spacecraft carried portions of his remains along with remains of Timothy Leary and 22 other people into orbit. In May of 2002, the spacecraft's orbit deteriorated and re-entered the atmosphere.

So, the next time you look up in the sky, give Gene a nod or a wink, and pause for a moment to consider the genius behind the optimistic vision of a world we would all like to live in, courtesy of the "Great Bird of the Galaxy."