William Shatner, aka Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, has boldly gone where he’s only gone on television before, space.
The 90-year-old was part Blue Origin’s successful space flight on board the New Shepard rocket that blasted off this morning around 10:40 a.m.
Shatner became the oldest person to fly to the edge of space, breaking the record set by then 82-year-old aerospace pioneer Wally Funk on Blue Origin’s first flight.
After emerging from the capsule, Jeff Bezos uncorked a bottle of champagne to celebrate the journey. While speaking to Bezos, Shatner described the journey as moving.
And, while he was in space, he launched a preprogrammed Tweet.
BTW I have a preprogrammed tweet coming out while I’m 🆙there!👆🏻😉
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) October 13, 2021
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.🚀 pic.twitter.com/ZY2Ka8ij7z
— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) October 13, 2021
This was New Shepard’s second trip to space after founder Jeff Bezos and others made the journey in July.
Liftoff went off without a hitch from Launch Site One near the west Texas town of Van Horn.
The whole flight lasted about eleven minutes during which Shatner enjoyed zero gravity for about four minutes.