Actor William Shatner to fly into space on trip planned for next week
Actor William Shatner, best known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek television series and movies, holds a portion of a birthday cake presented to him at a Q&A session on the opening day of MEGAC
TEXAS - Star Trek’s Captain Kirk is rocketing into space this month — boldly going where no other sci-fi actors have gone.
Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, announced Monday that William Shatner will blast off from West Texas on October 12.
At age 90, Shatner will become the oldest person in space. He’ll join three others — two of them paying customers — aboard a Blue Origin capsule. It will be the company’s second launch with a crew.
Bezos was on the debut flight in July, along with his brother and the youngest and oldest to fly in space. Shatner will break that upper threshold by six years.
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"I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," Shatner said in a statement.
Also flying with Shatner: a former NASA engineer who founded a nanosatellite company; the co-founder of a software company specializing in clinical research; and a Blue Origin employee. The up-and-down space hop will last 10 minutes and reach no higher than about 66 miles (106 kilometers).
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.