“Star Trek” creators the
late Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry have been selected as the
recipients of this year’s Space Foundation Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach
Award.
The award will be presented April 8 during the National Space Symposium’s
Opening Ceremony. Eugene Wesley “Rod” Roddenberry, Jr. will attend the
ceremony and accept the award on behalf of his parents.
The Space Foundation salutes the Roddenberrys for the vision and creative
inspiration that made possible the science fiction of “Star Trek” through
which millions have developed an affinity for the beauty, wonder and
possibilities of space exploration; and for enduring support of real-world
space exploration and development as evidenced by personal commitment to NASA
and other champions of the final frontier.
Gene Roddenberry’s legacy remains as “Star Trek: The Next Generation”
continues to succeed in theaters, and three television series based on “Star
Trek.” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and most
recently “Star Trek: Enterprise” maintain Roddenberry’s vision of the
future.
In addition to appearing in films and theater productions, Majel Barrett
Roddenberry has also played a number of “Star Trek” roles that Roddenberry
created for her, including the nurse in the original series; the voice of the
Federation Computer, a role she still plays today in the “Star Trek: Next
Generation” movies and on “Voyager” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine;” and
Lwaxana Troi on “Star Trek: Next Generation” and in the spin-off series,
“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
Majel is currently executive producer of and plays a small reoccurring role
as Dr. Belman in the “Battleground Earth” series, a pilot and format that
Gene developed in the mid-1970’s. Continuing Roddenberry’s love of space,
Majel sits on the board of governors for the National Space Society.
Each year, the Space Foundation presents its Douglas S. Morrow Public
Outreach Award to an individual or organization that has made significant
contributions to public awareness of space programs. The award honors the
memory of the late Doug Morrow, former Foundation Board Member and renowned
Academy Award winning writer and producer. Previous recipients include
Popular Science magazine, Space Shuttle Mission STS-95, NASA’s JPL Mars
Pathfinder Team, and the “Cable News Network.”
The symposium, which gathers top space leaders from industry, the military
and government, takes place April 8-11 in Colorado Springs. Preliminary
symposium program information and on-line registration are available at
www.spacesymposium.org or by calling 1-800-691-4000.
