Posted in: Star Trek, TV | Tagged: amazon, blue origin, jeff bezos, New Shepard, star trek, william shatner
Star Trek: William Shatner's Amazon Space Voyage a Success (VIDEO)
Captain's log: Stardate 10132021. Actor William Shatner completed his first space flight as a member of the Blue Origin courtesy of Amazon conglomerate Jeff Bezos on October 13. The Star Trek star took off from the West Texas launch site at 10:50 a.m. EST. He was joined by Blue Origin's VP Mission and Flight Operations Audrey Powers and crewmembers Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. The launch of the New Shepard NS-18 was originally scheduled for October 12, but weather conditions scrapped those plans.
William Shatner's Real-Life Star Trek
Prior to launch, Shatner was in good spirits as Bezos personally closed the ship's hatch. "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 prior to his flight. The ship returned to Earth safely before 11 a.m. "I am so filled with emotion," Shatner told Bezos while describing the feeling of leaving Earth. "I am overwhelmed. I had no idea."
Well-wishers, from fans to his celebrity friends, poured in with support for Shatner before making his flight as Bezos invited the 90-year old Canadian actor to become the oldest person in space. He played Captain James T. Kirk for 30 years across film and television since The Original Series premiere in 1966 and taking his final bow (for now) from the role in 1994's Star Trek: Generations that marked the fourth crossover between the TOS and Next Generation cast members. On top of the persistent tease among Star Trek fans of that elusive final cameo, Shatner's TekWar will be adapted to an adult animated series courtesy of Pure Imagination Studios.