William Shatner, after decades of pretending to travel the universe in movies and TV shows, is now going to space. Blue Origin's second spaceflight for tourists is scheduled for October 12. One of New Shepard’s passengers will be Star Trek actor and supposed Twitter verification gatekeeper.
Shatner (90) will become the oldest person ever to fly to space. Wally Funk (82), a pioneer in aviation, will be taking the title from Shatner. He was a passenger on New Shepard’s first crewed flight in July.
The #NS18 crew will be joined by two incredible, inspirational people. Actor @WilliamShatner, Blue Origins Vice President Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers @AudreyKPowers. pic.twitter.com/xqI9nw1KX8 Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 4, 2021
Blue Origins vice-president of mission and flight operations Audrey Powers will be accompanying Shatner. Other passengers will include Glen de Vries, co-founder of Medidata and Chris Boshuizen, co-founders of Planet Labs. This is the second of three planned launches by Blue Origin for this year.
After the Federal Aviation Administration stated that it is investigating safety concerns raised by current and former employees in a joint essay last Wednesday, the New Shepard flight will be held. The group also claimed that the company was not adequately sensitive to safety concerns, citing allegations of harassment and attempts to silence critics. CNBC reports that Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith stated to employees that the company went through a rigorous and painful process to certify New Shepards and that anyone who claims otherwise is simply uninformed.
