Blue Origin will launch the original "Star Trek", Captain, Blue Origin Vice-President and co-founders of Planet Labs, as well as a medical research platform, to space on an Oct. 12 Blue Origin flight.
William Shatner, an actor best known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk on "Star Trek: The Original Series," which premiered in 1966. Now 90, Blue Origin's crewed spaceflight will take them to the final frontier aboard their New Shepard spacecraft.
Blue Origin's second crewed spaceflight will be its second. After the inaugural crewed flight that launched Jeff Bezos, this will be the second.
Liftoff from Launch Site One, West Texas, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. local time. After criticisms in media reports, the Federal Aviation Administration could launch a review of Blue Origin's safety culture practices.
Live updates: Follow William Shatner’s Blue Origin launch here
Related: Star Trek movies ranked worst-to-best
Find out more about Shatner, his New Shepard NS-18 team and Shatner:
William Shatner
William Shatner will launch into space on October 12, 2021, with a Blue Origin suborbital mission. (Image credit: Blue Origin/Gary Marschka)
Shatner, who has been acting since 1960, is also well-known for his singing talents and his achievements in horsemanship.
His most well-known role was that of Capt. He is best known for his role as Capt. Shatner, at 90, will become the oldest person to reach orbit. He beat Wally Funk, an 82-year old Mercury 13 member and aviator, who set the record in July's Blue Origin's first flight. John Glenn (77 years old) is the oldest person to orbit. He was a NASA astronaut and joined NASA's STS-95 space shuttle mission in 1998 to conduct aging research.
Shatner has also appeared in space-related documentaries over the years, including cameos in "Star Trek" documentaries and "The Twilight Zone" prequels. He also made an appearance in a 1964 episode on "The Outer Limits." Shatner also played a recurring part in "3rd Rock from the Sun" from 1999 through 2000. He is also known for his role as Denny Crane, the main character in "The Practice" (2000s) and "Boston Legal". Shatner also has published many books and released a variety of music throughout the years.
"I have heard of space for a while now. I am taking this opportunity to experience it myself. "What a miracle!" Shatner stated in an Oct. 4, Blue Origin statement.
Audrey Powers
Audrey Powers, Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations at Blue Origin. (Image credit to Blue Origin)
Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's vice-president of mission and flight operations, has been with Blue Origin since 2013. According to her Blue Origin biography, she is responsible for New Shepard flight operations as well as vehicle maintenance and infrastructure for launch landing and support.
Powers was also a leader in the certification of New Shepard for flight. Powers is joining the crew as part of New Shepard's preparation for other flights, unlike the other passengers who pay for their seats.
Powers was previously a vice-president for legal and compliance and deputy general counsel at Blue Origin. Powers has worked as an engineer in the space industry and as a lawyer. Powers was a NASA flight controller and worked for over 2,000 hours at Mission Control for NASA's International Space Station program. Powers, in addition to her work with Blue Origin is also a pilot and chair of the board for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
Powers stated that she was proud to have flown for Team Blue and that she is humbled. She also said that she was excited to write Blue's history of human spaceflight. She added, "As an engineer/lawyer with over two decades of aerospace industry experience, I have great faith in our New Shepard crew and the vehicle that we have developed."
Chris Boshuizen
Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen. Image credit: Planet Labs
Chris Boshuizen, who co-founded Planet Labs (now known as Planet), in 2010 and was the chief technology officer of Planet for five years. Planet has launched over 450 satellites for mapping the Earth from space. Boshuizen served as a NASA space mission architect between 2008 and 2012. He also co-invented the NASA Phonesat, an orbital satellite that was adapted from a smartphone.
He also helped to establish Singularity University, which examines technological developments and their consequences. He also organized several international space conferences.
Boshuizen stated Sept. 27, in a Blue Origin statement that he was a crew member and said, "This is the fulfillment of my greatest childhood dreams." "More important, though, is that I see this flight a chance to inspire students to pursue STEM careers [science, technology engineering and math] to catalyze future space explorers. Their very capable hands are responsible for our future in space.
Glen de Vries
Glen de Vries, co-founder of Medidata. Image credit: Medidata
Glen de Vries was a co-founder at Medidata Solutions. The software company creates software that has been used in more than 25,000 clinical trials. These trials include items such as vaccines and rare diseases. De Vries also serves as vice-chair for life sciences and healthcare at Dassault Systmes. In 2019, Medidata was acquired by Dassault Systmes. He is also a trustee of Carnegie Mellon University. He is also a private pilot.
De Vries stated that he is excited to play a role in the advancement of space industry, and making these resources and understandings available to all, in a September 27 Blue Origin statement. He was also announced as a crewmember. This flight is truly a dream come real for me. I've been passionate about space and aviation since childhood.
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