Star Trek's William Shatner Becomes Oldest Man to Fly in Space
2021-10-14
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1Ninety-year-old actor William Shatner, flew into space Wednesday.
2The performer is known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series and films.
3He is the oldest person to ever reach space.
4Shatner was a passenger on a spaceship built by Blue Origin, the company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
5The Star Trek actor and three other passengers flew about 106 kilometers over the desert of western Texas to the edge of space.
6The ship operates without a pilot.
7It spent about three minutes at zero gravity then safely returned to Earth by parachute.
8The flight lasted just over 10 minutes.
9"How about that, guys? That was unlike anything they described," the actor said as the ship came back to Earth.
10Shatner broke the record for the oldest person in space by eight years.
11Pilot Wally Funk set the earlier record in July, also on a Blue Origin rocket.
12Science fiction fans enjoyed the chance to see the man best known as Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise.
13"This is a pinch-me moment for all of us to see Captain James Tiberius Kirk go to space," said Blue Origin launch commentator Jacki Cortese before liftoff.
14She said she, like many others, became interested in the space business because of shows like Star Trek.
15Bezos is also a Star Trek fan.
16He once played an outer space creature in one of the later Star Trek movies.
17Shatner flew on the ship for free as his invited guest.
18The launch brings attention to Bezos' space travel company.
19Bezos himself drove the four passengers to the launch area.
20He closed the ship's door after they climbed into the 18-meter rocket.
21And he was there to welcome the crew after the ship returned.
22"Hello, astronauts. Welcome to Earth!" Bezos said as he opened the door and was hugged by Shatner.
23The space tourism industry is quickly growing.
24Many passengers without government spaceflight training have been able to fly into space recently.
25Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson went into space in his own rocket in July, followed by Bezos nine days later on Blue Origin's first flight with a crew.
26Elon Musk's company SpaceX made its first private flight last month, but without Musk as a passenger.
27Last week, Russia launched an actor and a film director to the International Space Station to film a movie.
28Also on the flight was Audrey Powers, Blue Origin vice president.
29There were two other passengers who paid: Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer, and software businessman Glen de Vries.
30Blue Origin would not release the cost of their flights.
31After the flight, Shatner told Bezos that he gave him "the most profound experience I can imagine."
32Through tears, the actor said, "I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. It's 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."
33I'm Dan Novak.
1Ninety-year-old actor William Shatner, flew into space Wednesday. The performer is known for playing Captain Kirk in the Star Trek television series and films. He is the oldest person to ever reach space. 2Shatner was a passenger on a spaceship built by Blue Origin, the company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. 3The Star Trek actor and three other passengers flew about 106 kilometers over the desert of western Texas to the edge of space. The ship operates without a pilot. It spent about three minutes at zero gravity then safely returned to Earth by parachute. The flight lasted just over 10 minutes. 4"How about that, guys? That was unlike anything they described," the actor said as the ship came back to Earth. 5Shatner broke the record for the oldest person in space by eight years. Pilot Wally Funk set the earlier record in July, also on a Blue Origin rocket. 6Science fiction fans enjoyed the chance to see the man best known as Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. 7"This is a pinch-me moment for all of us to see Captain James Tiberius Kirk go to space," said Blue Origin launch commentator Jacki Cortese before liftoff. She said she, like many others, became interested in the space business because of shows like Star Trek. 8Bezos is also a Star Trek fan. He once played an outer space creature in one of the later Star Trek movies. Shatner flew on the ship for free as his invited guest. 9The launch brings attention to Bezos' space travel company. 10Bezos himself drove the four passengers to the launch area. He closed the ship's door after they climbed into the 18-meter rocket. And he was there to welcome the crew after the ship returned. 11"Hello, astronauts. Welcome to Earth!" Bezos said as he opened the door and was hugged by Shatner. 12The space tourism industry is quickly growing. Many passengers without government spaceflight training have been able to fly into space recently. 13Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson went into space in his own rocket in July, followed by Bezos nine days later on Blue Origin's first flight with a crew. Elon Musk's company SpaceX made its first private flight last month, but without Musk as a passenger. Last week, Russia launched an actor and a film director to the International Space Station to film a movie. 14Also on the flight was Audrey Powers, Blue Origin vice president. There were two other passengers who paid: Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer, and software businessman Glen de Vries. Blue Origin would not release the cost of their flights. 15After the flight, Shatner told Bezos that he gave him "the most profound experience I can imagine." 16Through tears, the actor said, "I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. It's 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." 17I'm Dan Novak. 18Dan Novak adapted this story based on reporting by The Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19__________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21tourism -n. the activity of traveling to a place for pleasure 22profound - adj. very strongly felt, very deep 23extraordinary - adj. very unusual; very different from what is normal or ordinary 24maintain - v. to cause to continue; to keep going