Honoring Roger’s Journey to the Stars
As part of our Ashes to Space™ mission, we spotlight the lives and legacies of those who orbit with us—our Ashtronauts. Each tribute is submitted by loved ones who share a story, photos, and the spirit of someone worth remembering.
Ashtronaut is the designation earned by individuals participating in Space Beyond’s Ashtronaut™ Program.
Today, we honor: Ashtronaut Roger Mark Tribble
From: Alameda, CA, USA
Shared by: Patricia L Tribble, Wife
These stories remind us why this mission matters—not just for space exploration, but for love, remembrance, and connection.
Trouble with Tribbles
Genius, power, and kindness. Those are the qualities that come to mind when I think of Roger.
The first time I saw him was on my very first day of work at Worldwide Educational Services. There he was, racing around the offices, teasing people with a rubber hand. He’d drop it onto someone’s shoulder, startling them, then burst into laughter. Everyone burst into laughter.
That was Roger.
His kindness, thoughtfulness, outrageous sense of humor, and infectious laughter touched everyone in his orbit. He had a way of making people feel special, of bringing joy into the most ordinary moments.
I became someone much, much better because of his love, his kindness, and his own unmistakable brand of Eau de Mystique Roger.
Roger had a brilliant scientific mind, but what made him extraordinary was his ability to take incredibly complex concepts and make them understandable to anyone. He never used his intelligence to make others feel small. Quite the opposite. He used it to lift people up.
Roger was also a deeply spiritual man. Meditation was part of his life, and he explored the mysteries of consciousness, the multiverse, and scientific concepts long before they entered popular conversation. His curiosity reached far beyond conventional thinking. For Roger, science and spirituality weren’t opposing forces. They were different ways of exploring the same extraordinary universe.
He had an astonishing ability to see possibilities where others saw limitations, and the patience and generosity to share those ideas without ever making someone feel inadequate.
For example, he volunteered to help a brilliant scientist with a disability at the University of Nevada, Reno, communicate his transformational concepts in ways others could understand.
But helping people was always at the heart of who Roger was.
Throughout his career, he helped young people, adults, and individuals with disabilities find meaningful employment and succeed in on-the-job training. In our business, he worked with people recovering from workplace injuries, from entry-level young workers and longshoremen to teachers and scientists from UC Berkeley.
To Roger, what mattered wasn’t someone’s title, education, or circumstances. It was the person and what he could do to help them move forward.
And somehow, through all that serious and important work, he never lost the mischievous spirit of the man who ran through an office with a rubber hand, laughing.
That was the magic of Roger. A brilliant mind, an enormous heart, and a sense of humor entirely his own.
And I, along with our cats, were fortunate enough to be loved by him.
A Journey Beyond Earth
A portion of Roger’s ashes will be launched to space aboard our upcoming mission, where they will orbit Earth as part of a lasting celestial tribute.
Whether stargazing from home or tracking the spacecraft through the app, Roger’s loved ones will be able to follow the journey—knowing that their story is quite literally written in the stars.
Tribute Gallery – Ashtronaut Roger Mark Tribble
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