William Shatner becomes oldest person to travel to space
William Shatner is officially the oldest person to travel to space.
On Wednesday, the 90-year-old Star Trek actor joined Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin on its latest space flight. The rocket launched from the company's Launch Site One in West Texas for the mission, which lasted approximately ten minutes.
"That was unlike anything they described," Shatner said after the capsule parachuted back to Earth. "That's unlike anything I've ever (experienced)."
His fellow passengers included Blue Origin vice president Audrey Powers and paying customers Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. Ahead of the launch, the company shared that the capsule can seat up to six passengers but does not require a pilot, as it is fully autonomous.
"It's life-changing in its way, not because of the aerial adventure, but because of the people I'm meeting," the actor said on the company's live-stream. "We're just at the beginning (of space travel), but how miraculous that beginning is - how extraordinary it is to be part of that beginning."
Later, Bezos revealed that Shatner brought along a token from his childhood as a Star Trek fan.
"I made these tricorders and communicator to play Star Trek with my friends when I was 9 years old, and my incredible mom saved them for 48 years," the 57-year-old wrote on Instagram. "She dug them up this past week, and @WilliamShatner has agreed to take them up into space for me tomorrow. Please don't judge me for the artwork. Thank you, Bill!"
