'Star Trek' Star William Shatner Goes to Space: Watch Rocket Launch, Splashdown of Captain Kirk!

'Star Trek' Star William Shatner Goes to Space: Watch Rocket Launch, Splashdown of Captain Kirk!
It is everybody's dream to go to space, and 'Star Trek' actor William Shatner just achieved that. Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images

It is everybody's dream to go to space, and 'Star Trek' actor William Shatner just achieved that dream.

Shatner, also known as Captain James T. Kirk, is considered the oldest person to travel to space. Through Amazon founder and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos, Shatner has reached space on Wednesday.

William Shatner Goes to Space

Shatner blasted off above a Blue Origin's New Shephard rocket on Wednesday at 7:50 a.m. Pacific Time from a West Texas region 25 miles north of Van Horn, per Cnet. This experience lasted about 10 minutes. After the separation of the capsule from its booster, Blue Origin's New Shepard crew experienced zero gravity and saw the view of the Earth.

ABC News said that the New Shepard reached a height of 347,539 feet above ground level with a maximum velocity of 2,235 mph.

The tourist spacecraft carried Shatner and three other astronauts. Among those included are Blue Origin vice president of mission and flight operations and a former NASA engineer and flight controller Audrey Powers; co-founder of a life science company Medidata Solutions Glen de Vries; as well as a former space mission architect for NASA Chris Boshuizen.

According to Cnet, the launch was originally planned for October 12, but it was postponed due to the wind forecast. Aside from the said launch postponement, the lift-off was also delayed by 30 minutes.

On the other hand, the 90-year-old actor Shatner is now the oldest person to travel to space, beating the record of the 82-years-old Wally Funk who only held the title for almost three months.

Moreover, Shatner was overwhelmed by this 10-minute travel to space experience and talked to Bezos, saying that everybody in the world should have this moment in their life. He also suggested putting it on 3D so the people could watch it through goggles.

"I am so filled with emotion. It was extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don't want to lose it. It's so much larger than me and life." Shatner furthered, per ABC News.

Shatner also tweeted a quote from Sir Isaac Newton after this experience.

Read Also: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Screen Durability an Epic Fail? Users Complain Over Cracking Issue

Blue Origin New Shepard: Everything You Need to Know

For those who don't know, this is the second crewed flight of the New Shepard. The first flight carried Bezos together with his brother Mark, a Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen, as well as Wally Funk. For background information of Funk, she is a pioneer pilot who was denied entry to NASA's astronaut corps in the 1960s due to her gender, per New York Times.

Moreover, New Shepard is the centerpiece rocket of Bezos' space tourism business.

Its name originated from one of the astronauts who walked on the moon and the first American to reach space in 1961, Alan Shepard.

Here's a look at Shatner's journey to space--from his launch to splashdown.

Related Article: 'Star Trek' Actor William Shatner Space Flight: New Launch Schedule, Full Details of Captain Kirk's Blue Origin Trip

© 2024 iTech Post All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Company from iTechPost

More from iTechPost