William Shatner, best known for playing Star Trek's Captain James T. Kirk, is preparing to boldly go where no 90-year-old man has gone before: outer space.
The trip is scheduled to lift off from Launch Site One in Texas on Oct. 12 through Blue Origin, the company owned by Jeff Bezos that the Amazon founder used for his own space trip in June. Joining Shatner aboard New Shepard NS-18 will be Blue Origin's Audrey Powers and crewmembers Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. The flight is scheduled to last for approximately 10 minutes and will reach no higher than 66 miles. This is considered the edge of outer space, just past the Kármán line.
"I’ve heard about space for a long time now," Shatner said in a statement. "I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle."
"I’m so proud and humbled to fly on behalf of Team Blue, and I’m excited to continue writing Blue’s human spaceflight history," Powers added. "I was part of the amazing effort we assembled for New Shepard’s Human Flight Certification Review, a years-long initiative completed in July 2021. As an engineer and lawyer with more than two decades of experience in the aerospace industry, I have great confidence in our New Shepard team and the vehicle we’ve developed."
Shatner played Kirk throughout Star Trek: The Original Series, as well as its animated series, theatrical films and video games. His last on-screen portrayal of Kirk was in 1994's Star Trek: Generations.
Of course, Shatner going to space isn't the most bizarre thing the actor has made headlines for in recent months. In March, he announced that he'd be preserving himself through an interactive artificial intelligence after his death. "This is for all my children and all my children's children and all my children's loved ones and all the loved ones of the loved ones," Shatner said. "That's my gift to you down through time."
Those who wish to watch Shatner's lift-off can tune in on BlueOrigin.com at T-90 minutes. Lift-off is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. CT.
Source: Blue Origin, via Associated Press