Star Trek's very own Captain James T. Kirk, William Shatner, successfully launched into outer space on Wednesday, Oct. 13.
"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now & then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me," Shatner tweeted (the tweet was drafted before lift-off and sent once he was in orbit). The New Shepard NS-18 flight lasted for approximately 10 minutes and reached approximately 66 miles.
Shatner's space trip was announced on Oct. 4 through Blue Origin, the company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The actor was joined by Blue Origin's Audrey Powers and crewmembers Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries.
"I’ve heard about space for a long time now," Shatner said at the time. "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."
Before his trip, Shatner admitted that he was scared to go into space. "I'm terrified. I'm Captain Kirk and I'm terrified," he said. "I'm not really terrified-- yes I am. It comes and goes like a summer cold. I'm planning on putting my nose against the window (while in space) and my only hope is I won't see someone else looking back."
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.