In the late 1980s Roddenberry was afflicted by the first manifestations of cerebral vascular disease and encephalopathy as a result of his longstanding recreational abuse of legal and illicit drugs, including alcohol, marijuana, Valium, Seconal, Ritalin, Dexamyl, and cocaine. The effects of these substances were compounded by deleterious interactions with diabetes, high blood pressure, and antidepressant prescriptions. On 21 April 1997 a Celestis spacecraft carrying portions of the cremated remains of Roddenberry, of Timothy Leary and of 22 other people was launched into Earth orbit aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from near the Canary Islands. On 20 May 2002 the spacecraft's orbit deteriorated and it disintegrated in the atmosphere.