William Shatner Is Blasting Off! The 90-Year-Old Actor Will Be the Oldest Person Going to Space
When William Shatner finally gets beamed up to space in an upcoming trip, he’ll be the oldest person to do so. It’s a fitting title for the 90-year-old beloved actor who played Star Trek’s iconic Captain Kirk for decades.
Shatner will take the trip with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos‘ space flight company Blue Origin. He’ll blast off alongside three other people from the spaceport in Van Horn, Texas. The trip lasts around 11 minutes and climbs to just above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized space boundary.
“I’ve heard about space for a long time now,” said Shatner of his flight. “I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.”
Alongside Shatner will be Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission and Flight Operations, and crew members Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. The flight, originally scheduled for October 12, will blast off a day late due to inclement weather.
Shatner said he was asked to join the flight after a friend pointed out, “Wouldn’t it be something if Captain Kirk went up there?”
This will only be the second trip for Bezos’ space company after the billionaire was aboard the first back in July. The reusable space ship seats six passengers — and they all get a window seat.
Shatner also talked about what he hopes he takes away from the flight while on CBS This Morning.
“I want to have the vision. I want to see the Earth,” he said. “I want to have a perspective that hasn’t been shown to me before. That’s what I’m interested in seeing.”
He similarly told the Today show what he was looking forward to.
“I’m going to see the vastness of space and the extraordinary miracle of our Earth and how fragile it is compared to the forces at work in the universe.”
William Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series from 1966 to 1969 and the six following movies. This time, he’ll finally get to see the great beyond himself.
