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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider 90-year-old William Shatner becomes oldest person to see 'space, the final frontier'

90-year-old William Shatner becomes oldest person to see 'space, the final frontier'

Published Oct 14, 2021 11:52 am

‘It’s extraordinary. Extraordinary.’

“It was so moving,” says William Shatner, trying to find words to describe an experience very few human beings have so far ever had. See, the 90-year-old actor, famous for being the original Captain James T. Kirk in “Star Trek” series and films, finally got to see space, which his iconic character has long described as “the final frontier.”

ICONIC Shatner (left) could not contain the emotions he was feeling after flying to space and then landing back to Earth, describing what it was like to Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin, screenshot)

Shatner was among the passengers for the second manned spaceflight by Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, that took off earlier today, Oct. 14, 2021 (Oct. 13 in CDT). In July this year, Bezos joined three others to become the first humans to have flown in space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Although their flight got delayed by 24 hours, the experience was very much worth it, as a visibly moved Shatner tells Bezos after landing back to Earth. It was, he says, “unlike anything they described.” Somewhat echoing the “final frontier” sentiments of his character Kirk, Shatner wonders aloud at the difference between the “blue blanket” that is “Mother Earth” and the “black” that is space. “Is this death?” the actor wonders.

“What you have given me,” a still moved Shatner continues to tell Bezos, “is a most profound experience... I’m so filled with emotion about what just happened. It’s extraordinary. Extraordinary.”

Shatner flew into space with three others: Blue Origin’s VP for mission and flight operations Audrey Powers, tech entrepreneur and former NASA Engineer Chris Boshuizen, and a clinical trials software founder Glen de Vries.

KIRK AND CREW From left: Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers, and Glen de Vries (Blue Origin)

Space has, indeed, become the final frontier, but perhaps not yet in the same manner it was for Capt. Kirk. Right now, space is seen to be next tourist destination for those who could afford it. Apart from Blue Origin, a couple of other spaceflight companies are making headway into space tourism, trying to make the cost as cheap as possible by perfecting reusable rocket technology—there’s Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, both of which had also already done their first manned spaceflights. Only Bezos’ Blue Origin has done a second manned mission within the same year.

You can check out Willam Shatner’s spaceflight here.

Related Tags

SPACE TOURISM Jeff Bezos blue origin WILLIAM SHATNER New Shepard
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