William Shatner, a star Trek actor, and three other passengers flew successfully to the edge and back on a Blue Origins New Shepard tourist launch rocket. At 9:50 AM ET, the foursome took off from Blue Origins' Van Horn, Texas launch site. They climbed to an elevation of approximately 66 miles and then safely returned to Earth.
Today Shatner flew alongside two Blue Origin employees and paying customers. Glen de Vries, cofounder of Medidata software company, and Chris Boshuizen were among them. Blue Origin's vice president for mission and flight operations, Audrey Powers, was the representative of the company.
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Shatner was emotional after Shatner's landing. After Shatner landed, he told Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos that what he had experienced was the most memorable. I am so overwhelmed by emotion over what just happened. It was extraordinary and extraordinary. It's a terrible feeling. He asked, "Is that death?"
Blue Origin's second crewed launch on the New Shepard rocket was today. It took just over 10 minutes to complete. Bezos was the ex-CEO of Amazon and took part in the company's first crewed launch, on July 20th. Along with Mark, his brother and Wally Funk, a Dutch teenager, he flew. Funk was 82 years old when she flew. But, this morning, Shatner, 90, has surpassed her.
At the moment, New Shepard serves as the company's primary rocket. It is suborbital and cannot reach orbit around Earth at enough speed. It is capable of lifting crews to the edge and back, so riders can feel weightlessness for just a few seconds. Crews are strapped into a crew capsule and placed on top of the rocket to reach space. The capsule and rocket split once they are high above the Earth. Passengers briefly float around the cabin. Both pieces of the vehicle then fall to Earth. The capsule is landed under parachutes, while the rocket revises its engine and lands upright.
Although Shatners flight was a success, it came amid turbulent times for Blue Origin. 21 former and current employees wrote a damning essay criticizing Blue Origin's culture. It was published just before the mission. An investigation by the Washington Post revealed that Blue Origin employees believe Blue Origin has a sexist bro culture.
