Le Creuset launches Star Trek cookware collection, sends a pot into the stratosphere

Cookware brand Le Creuset has launched a limited-edition collection inspired by the science fiction series Star Trek, timed to the show's 60th anniversary. The collaboration with rights holder Paramount was reportedly years in the making.

The lineup includes a 15cm cheese grater shaped like the classic Star Trek communicator, nicknamed the "Communi-grator," priced at $68. There's also a $500 cast-iron casserole pot styled after the USS Enterprise, featuring a Starfleet insignia knob and the phrase "to boldly go" inside, plus a $450 Klingon-themed casserole dish bearing the word "Qapla!", meaning "success" in Klingon.

Other pieces include a $150 Galileo shuttlecraft-shaped dish with 1.6 liters of capacity, a $35 Spock ear-shaped mug, a $55 spoon rest shaped like Spock's hand, and a $40 oven mitt featuring the Vulcan salute in the show's signature baby-blue color.

A pot in the stratosphere

To mark the launch, Le Creuset partnered with Sent Into Space to send its Enterprise-themed casserole dish more than 111,000 feet above Earth—above 99.5 percent of the atmosphere—using a balloon taller than the White House. The pot remained aloft for one hour, 19 minutes and four seconds, enduring temperatures as low as -63.4°C.

Co-founder Chris Rose said the team had to carefully balance the pot's weight and run simulations to predict its landing site, avoiding bodies of water and populated areas. Aviation authorities had to be notified in advance to ensure the flight posed no risk to aircraft. During reentry, the dish reached speeds exceeding 300 mph before safely landing in Lincolnshire, England.