Starfleet's youngest captain, he was a brave explorer who led the USS Enterprise on an intergalactic adventure. The actor who portrayed Captain James Tiberius Kirk in Star Trek for over 40 years is now reportedly ready to bravely embark on a real-life adventure into space at the age of ninety.
According to TMZ William Shatner will take off next month aboard a Blue Origin capsule belonging to Amazon founder Jezz Beezos. The 15-minute ride is being filmed for a documentary.
However, Shatner's mission seems shrouded with secrecy. Neither Blue Origin nor Shatner have commented. Cynics point to the fact that the TMZ report was published on the same day Shatner tweeted about his new album Bill. This is described as an autobiographical journey through poetry, prose and music.
Shatner, if the flight happens, would be the oldest person to fly into space. She would surpass Wally Funk who was 82 in July when she flew with Blue Origins' first crewed suborbital flight 66.5 miles (107km). Bezos called it the greatest day of his life.
According to TMZ, Shatners has been in talks about a spaceflight since a while. A partnership with Discovery was reportedly canceled. According to TMZ, the October flight will be made with new partners.
This episode will likely fuel speculation about the identity and motivation of the top bidder at Bezos' June auction for a seat on the first flight. An anonymous winner paid $28m and then withdrew due to an unspecified scheduling conflict. Oliver Daemen, 18, of the Netherlands replaced him. His father, an investment manager, purchased his seat for an undisclosed amount.
With over 2.4 million followers on Twitter, Shatner has not hidden his desire to travel in space. Elon Musks SpaceX was competing with Bezos in May 2020. He was returning astronauts to orbit from US soil. In a tweet, he wrote: BTW Nasa!
Shatner suggested that he would soon take a private flight on an up-and-down flight like the one provided by Blue Origin two months later. Space.com reports that he expressed concern about the dangers of space travel.
Canadian Shatner has had a long relationship with Nasa during and after his time as Kirk in Star Trek.
He narrated the 1976 short film Universe. Since then, he has been involved in other video projects, including the 2011 documentary about the spaceship, the 100th anniversary celebrations at Nasas Langley research centre in 2017, and the promotion of Parker's solar probe the year after.
