Stephen Hawking's ashes buried in Westminster Abbey

LONDON (AP) — Stephen Hawking has taken his place among Britain's greatest scientists with the burial of his ashes in Westminster Abbey, between the graves of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.

More than 1,000 people Friday attended a service of thanksgiving for the physicist, who died in March at age 76 after decades of living with motor neuron disease.

The service included readings by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Hawking in a BBC drama, and astronaut Tim Peake.

There were also tributes from Astronomer Royal Martin Rees and Nobel prize winner Kip Thorne.

After the service, Hawking's words, set to music by Greek composer Vangelis, are to be beamed into space from a European Space Agency satellite dish in Spain. Hawking's daughter, Lucy, said the music would be aimed at "the nearest black hole, 1A 0620-00."

The ashes were interred in Scientists' Corner, a section of the Abbey dedicated to those who have made significant breakthroughs.