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Captain Kirk Is Headed to Space on Blue Origin’s Second Space Flight

The space billionaire race is over, with Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Jared Isaacman among the first non-professional humans to win it. But now the rest of the rich will follow, and Captain James T. Kirk is among them.
William Shatner to go to space on Blue Origin 7 photos
Photo: Twitter / Blue Origin
William Shatner speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con InternationalBlue Origin's NS-18 MissionBlue Origin's NS-18 MissionBlue Origin's NS-18 MissionAudrey PowersNew Shepard Interior Capsule
Blue Origin is going forward with its mission to send non-professional humans to space and announced the company's second trip last week after the successful launch that took Jeff Bezos to space in July.

The rumor mill stops here, as Blue Origin officially confirmed that Star Trek actor William Shatner will be one of the four people to step onboard New Shepard’s 18th mission (NS-18).

Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, Dr. Chris Boshuizen, and Glen de Vries will also join the actor for his real space adventure.

The launch is planned for October 12, from Launch Site One in West Texas. Liftoff is scheduled for 8:30 AM CDT / 13:30 UTC, and there will also be live coverage prior to launch.

William Shatner, who is the current host and executive producer of docu-series The UnXplained on The History Channel, will have more answers after his 10-minute visit to space.

He explained that it’s been a long dream of his to travel to space, and is excited about the opportunity. The Star Trek actor told Blue Origin: "I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle."

With this trip, there are a lot of firsts he’s achieving. The 90-year-old will be the oldest person to travel to space, taking the title from previous Blue Origin passenger, aviation pioneer Wally Funk, 82. But that’s not all, because, while he won’t be at the helm of the USS Enterprise, the Canadian will be the first actor who played a spaceship captain to actually reach space, and it will make his Captain Kirk role a tiny bit less fiction and a lot cooler.


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About the author: Monica Coman
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Imagine a Wenn diagram for cars and celebrities. At the intersection you'll find Monica, putting her passion for these fields and English-Spanish double major to work. She's been doing for the past seven years, most recently at autoevolution.
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