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William Shatner, 90, is headed to space on a Blue Origin rocket
Oct 4, 2021, 7:42 AM
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 06: William Shatner visits SiriusXM Studios on September 6, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
(Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
(CNN) — Captain Kirk is headed to space.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin announced Monday actor William Shatner, 90, will be on the next Blue Origin flight alongside and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations, Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries.
The New Shepard NS-18 flight will lift off October 12. The journey will take 11 minutes and soar past the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.
“I’ve heard about space for a long time now,” Shatner said in a press release. “I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.”
And it has been a long time coming. Shatner has been pretending to live in space since the 1960s, when he played Captain James T. Kirk on the hit television series “Star Trek.” He went on to star in seven “Star Trek” films.
He’s also the host and executive producer of “The UnXplained” on The History Channel, which explores the inexplicable, including aliens.
The announcement comes less than a week after a group of 21 current and former employees at Blue Origin co-signed an essay speaking out against what they describe as a toxic workplace where “professional dissent” is “actively stifled,” and certain male leaders routinely engage in sexist behavior.
In a statement, Blue Origin said it has “no tolerance for discrimination or harassment of any kind. We provide numerous avenues for employees, including a 24/7 anonymous hotline, and will promptly investigate any new claims of misconduct.” The company did not respond to requests for comment about specific allegations in the essay.
The-CNN-Wire
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