Photo: Blue Origin
This week, something extraordinary will happen in the world of space exploration: for the first time ever, a person who played the role of a starship captain in an extremely successful sci-fi series will actually fly into space.
Blue Origin is the company behind this, and William Shatner the starship captain who will finally get to see in real life the place he spent so much time in make-believe-land. The man known as Captain Kirk was supposed to fly on board Jeff Bezos company’s SN-1-8 mission on Tuesday, October 12, but bad weather will not let that happen.
According to the space company, forecasted winds on Tuesday means the flight is a no-go at that time, and the launch has been pushed to Wednesday, October 13. The new launch time has been set at 8:30 am CDT, with the spacecraft, New Shepard, having met all mission requirements.
If NS-18 does go through, Shatner will become the oldest person ever to take a trip to space, even as briefly as the Blue Origin machine allows. At 90, the actor will surpass the achievement of 82-year old Wally Funk, who was on the inaugural Blue Origin flight, alongside jeff Bezos, back in July.
Despite his Star Trek character being all courageous and charming, Shatner made no secret of the fact his upcoming trip to space makes him kind of nervous. In an interview with NBC earlier this month, the man confirmed he’s feeling a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from excitement to fear.
But, at least, he’ll not be alone in the spaceship. Accompanying Captain Kirk this time will not be Spock or Scotty, but three Blue Origin customers: former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen, Dassault Systèmes' vice-chair for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Glen de Vries, and Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, Audrey Powers.
According to the space company, forecasted winds on Tuesday means the flight is a no-go at that time, and the launch has been pushed to Wednesday, October 13. The new launch time has been set at 8:30 am CDT, with the spacecraft, New Shepard, having met all mission requirements.
If NS-18 does go through, Shatner will become the oldest person ever to take a trip to space, even as briefly as the Blue Origin machine allows. At 90, the actor will surpass the achievement of 82-year old Wally Funk, who was on the inaugural Blue Origin flight, alongside jeff Bezos, back in July.
Despite his Star Trek character being all courageous and charming, Shatner made no secret of the fact his upcoming trip to space makes him kind of nervous. In an interview with NBC earlier this month, the man confirmed he’s feeling a rollercoaster of emotions, ranging from excitement to fear.
But, at least, he’ll not be alone in the spaceship. Accompanying Captain Kirk this time will not be Spock or Scotty, but three Blue Origin customers: former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen, Dassault Systèmes' vice-chair for Life Sciences & Healthcare, Glen de Vries, and Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, Audrey Powers.
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