90 Year-Old William Shatner Takes Blue Origin Where Only 562 Human Beings Have Gone Before
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90 year-old actor William Shatner, universally known for his iconic portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk of the United Federation starship USS Enterprise from the Star Trek franchise of films and TV, left the confines of Earth aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket ship today traveling to a standard orbit.
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Only 562 human beings have ever traveled to outer space in human history.
Axios: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin successfully flew William Shatner — Captain Kirk himself from “Star Trek” — and three other astronauts to space for its second human mission on Wednesday.
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Why it matters: The launch was another step toward proving the company can safely launch people to suborbital space and bring them back to Earth.
Details: Shatner was joined for the flight by Blue Origin’s Audrey Powers, satellite company Planet’s co-founder Chris Boshuizen and Medidata co-founder Glen de Vries.
- Shatner, 90, became the oldest person to fly to space, surpassing Wally Funk, who was aboard Blue Origin’s first human flight in July at the age of 82.
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What they’re saying: “This experience is something unbelievable,” Shatner said after returning to Earth and exiting the capsule.
- “What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine,” he said to Bezos. “I’m so filled with emotion about what just happened. It’s extraordinary.”
- “I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don’t want to lose it. It’s so much larger than me and life.”
How it works: Blue Origin’s New Shepard space system is designed to bring a capsule carrying its passengers about 62 miles above the surface of the Earth.
Shatner now shares something in common with astronaut Mae Jemison.
Mae Jemison was the first person to both go to space and be on #StarTrek send tweet. pic.twitter.com/015kbvIxwK
— Jim Sharkey (@madscienceskill) October 13, 2021
