Even though space was his second home for years, William Shatner is now officially a space traveler courtesy of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
PHOTO by FLORIDA NEWS TIMES
After a delay due to wind, the Blue Origin rocket launched this morning and the capsule carrying the crew has safely landed in Texas. Jeff Bezos opened the capsule door and said, “Hello astronauts! Welcome to Earth!”
Shatner had expressed nerves about the trip at a New York Comic Con panel on October 7th. “I’m terrified,” he said. “I know! I’m Captain bloody Kirk and I’m terrified!”
The legendary actor is the oldest person to have flown in space (at 90 years old!).
The New Shepard NS-18 flight took 11 minutes and passed the Kármán Line, which is officially recognized as the boundary of space. Upon landing, Shatner said, “That was unlike anything they described.”
Shatner’s Twitter account posted a quote from Sir Isaac Newton when the crew reached space: “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.”
The Blue Origin crew also includes Blue Origin vice president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers, Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. Shatner posed with the crew, who were all wearing red shirts (which any Trekkie will get the joke), but since they have safely landed, we know the legend of red shirts not surviving a mission is false.
