{"id":10910,"date":"2021-10-14T00:53:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T16:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origin-sends-william-shatner-to-the-final-frontier\/"},"modified":"2021-10-14T00:53:21","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T16:53:21","slug":"blue-origin-sends-william-shatner-to-the-final-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origin-sends-william-shatner-to-the-final-frontier\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin sends William Shatner to the final frontier"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n

\"\"
William Shatner floats out of its seat after arriving in space on Blue Origin\u2019s crew capsule. Credit: Blue Origin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

William Shatner, the 90-year-old veteran of countless imaginary space voyages playing Star Trek\u2019s Captain Kirk, blasted off for real Wednesday, becoming the oldest person to reach the final frontier in a PR bonanza for Jeff Bezos and his rocket company Blue Origin.<\/p>\n

Over the course of 10 minutes and 17 seconds, Shatner and three crewmates took off atop a hydrogen-fueled rocket, climbed to edge of space 65.8 miles up and enjoyed three to four minutes of weightlessness, along with spectacular views of Earth, before plunging back to a gentle parachute-assisted touchdown.<\/p>\n

Within minutes, Bezos and Blue Origin recovery crews were on the scene to open the spacecraft\u2019s hatch and welcome Shatner, Australian entrepreneur Chris Boshuizen, microbiologist Glen de Vries and Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers back to Earth.<\/p>\n

Shatner cautiously made his way down a few short steps to the ground and was warmly embraced by Bezos. The actor grew emotional and was occasionally at a loss for words describing the flight to the man who made it possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody in the world needs to do this,\u201d Shatner said. \u201cIt was unbelievable, unbelievable. \u2026 To see the blue air cover go whip by and you\u2019re staring into blackness, that\u2019s the thing. The covering of blue, this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue that we have around us, we think oh, that\u2019s blue sky and then suddenly you shoot through it all as though you whip off a sheet when you\u2019re asleep, and you\u2019re looking into blackness.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was struck by the stark \u201cugliness\u201d of that blackness compared to the blue-and-white of planet Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine,\u201d he told Bezos, on the verge of tears. \u201cI\u2019m so filled with emotion about what just happened. I just, it\u2019s extraordinary, extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this, I hope that I can maintain what I feel now, I don\u2019t want to lose it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so, so much larger than the me and life. It hasn\u2019t got anything to do with a little green planet, a blue orb, it has to do with the enormity and the quickness and the suddenness of life and death. Oh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n