Roger Moore, Who Took James Bond to Space, Dies at 89

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Roger Moore dons a spacesuit for James Bond's space mission in 1979's "Moonraker."
Roger Moore dons a spacesuit for James Bond's space mission in 1979's "Moonraker." (Image credit: Everett Collection)

In "Moonraker" (1979), James Bond ventured in outer space to battle villian Hugo Drax. (Image credit: United Artists)

Roger Moore, the British actor who launched James Bond into space in "Moonraker," died Tuesday (May 23) in Switzerland, according to press reports. He was 89. 

Moore's death was attributed to cancer, according to the New York Times. During his prolific film career, Moore starred in seven James Bond films between 1973 and 1985, starting with "Live and Let Die" and ending with "A View to a Kill." But for space fans, it was Moore's turn as secret agent 007 in 1979's "Moonraker" that will live on in film memory. [Gallery: James Bond in Space]

In "Moonraker," Moore's Bond teams up with NASA scientist Holly Goodhead to track down a space shuttle hijacked by villain Hugo Drax, leading to a climactic battle on a space station, complete with lasers. So as a memoriam for Moore, here's a look back at some great space scenes from "Moonraker."

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.