{"id":17472,"date":"2021-10-14T01:29:54","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T17:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/the-most-profound-experience-blue-origin-sends-star-treks-william-shatner-to-the-final-frontier\/"},"modified":"2021-10-14T01:29:54","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T17:29:54","slug":"the-most-profound-experience-blue-origin-sends-star-treks-william-shatner-to-the-final-frontier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/the-most-profound-experience-blue-origin-sends-star-treks-william-shatner-to-the-final-frontier\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The most profound experience\u2019: Blue Origin sends Star Trek\u2019s William Shatner to the final frontier"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship fires up its engine. (Blue Origin via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reality caught up with science fiction today when Star Trek actor William Shatner, a.k.a. Captain James T. Kirk, briefly crossed into outer space aboard Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard suborbital spaceship.<\/p>\n

In the process, the 90-year-old Shatner took the title of oldest human in space, less than three months after 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk set that record on Blue Origin\u2019s first-ever crewed flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about that, guys?\u201d Shatner could be heard saying during the descent. \u201cThat was unlike anything they described. \u2026 That was unlike anything you could ever feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s mission at Blue Origin\u2019s Launch Site One in West Texas was the 18th for the New Shepard breed of spaceships, including 16 uncrewed flights over the past six years. It marked a bright day for Jeff Bezos\u2019 Kent, Wash.-based space venture, coming amid a set of challenges and controversies.<\/p>\n

The flight followed the pattern set by July\u2019s milestone mission, which carried Funk, Bezos, his brother Mark and Dutch student Oliver Daemen across the 100-kilometer (62-mile) space boundary known as the Karman Line.<\/p>\n

Today, Shatner was joined by three other spacefliers: Chris Boshuizen, a venture capitalist who co-founded Planet Labs; Glen de Vries, a co-founder of Medidata Solutions who is now an executive at Dassault Systems; and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin\u2019s vice president of New Shepard mission and flight operations.<\/p>\n

Boshuizen and de Vries paid an undisclosed fare for their trip, while Shatner and Powers flew on Blue Origin\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

Before heading out to the launch pad, Blue Origin crew trainer Sarah Knights presented the quartet with commemorative coins. \u201cHeads we go, tails we don\u2019t,\u201d Shatner joked on the company\u2019s live webcast.<\/p>\n

No coin was flipped: Instead, the spacefliers were driven out to the pad in a Rivian truck with a uniform-clad Bezos acting as their chauffeur. They climbed the launch tower\u2019s seven flights of stairs and then strapped themselves into their seats under Knights\u2019 guidance. Bezos himself closed the hatch.<\/p>\n