The veteran actor, who was the original Captain Kirk, has accepted an invitation to ride on the Blue Origin rocket.
Confirming the recent rumours, the space travel company Blue Origin (which is owned by Jeff Bezos) have announced that William Shatner will be a passenger on their next launch. He will blast off from ‘Launch Site One’ in West Texas on 12th October, with lift-off targeted for 8:30 am CDT / 13:30 UTC.
At 90 years old, Shatner will become the oldest man in space, beating aviation pioneer Wally Funk who accompanied Bezos on their first human-crewed launch at a youthful 82.
Shatner is quoted as saying, with his trademark wit: “I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.”
He’s also added a little more on twitter: “Yes, it’s true; I’m going to be a ‘rocket man!’ It’s never too late to experience new things.”
New Shepard NS-18
According to Blue Origin’s press release, the actor will fly on ‘New Shepard NS-18’ along with Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, and crewmates Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries.
The flight will last no more then 10 minutes, and reach no higher than 66 miles, before parachuting back down for a desert landing close to the launch site. You can follow the launch here.
Rocket Man
While he’s not reprised Kirk onscreen since being killed off in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations, handing the movie baton to the ST:TNG crew, Shatner remains busy. He is currently the host and executive producer of The UnXplained on The History Channel. From the producers of Ancient Aliens and The Curse of Oak Island, the one-hour, non-fiction series explores the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries.
Shatner is also a, let’s say, musical performer, with a remarkable number of spoken word albums to his name. Given the news, it sees an appropriate time to share his rendition of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ – interpreted in his own idiosyncratic way. Perhaps he’ll perform it for his fellow travellers during the launch!
Once heard, never forgotten!