Watch 'Star Trek' Actor William Shatner Fly to Space on Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket
The flight will last approximately 11 minutes.
Star Trek actor William Shatner is scheduled to travel to space aboard Blue Origin‘s New Shepard rocket out of West Texas on Wednesday morning.
Shatner, who is best known for playing James T. Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise on Star Trek, will travel alongside Audrey Powers, the company’s vice president of mission and flight operations, Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Fries.
“I’ve heard about space for a long time now,” Shatner said in a press release. “I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.”
Today’s flight will mark the New Shepard rocket’s second crewed flight, following Blue Origin’s inaugural trip in July, which included founder and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
The New Shepard NS-18 mission will last roughly 11 minutes and will climb to an altitude above 62 miles high, crossing the boundary into space where the crew will float for a few minutes and view Earth through the capsule’s windows. The passengers will then parachute down to Earth and land near the launch center.
At 90 years old, Shatner will become the oldest person to fly to space, a record which previously belonged to aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who was 82 years old when she flew on Blue Origin’s July flight.
Watch William Shatner fly to space via Blue Origin’s webcast above.
Elsewhere, Apple will host its Unleashed event on October 18.
