Star Trek’s William Shatner makes history as oldest man in space
By Keiran Southern, PA Los Angeles Correspondent
Star Trek’s William Shatner has made history as the oldest person in space after blasting off from the Texas desert in a rocket built by Jeff Bezos’s company.
The actor (90) reached the final frontier on Wednesday, delighting the millions of sci-fi fans who know him as Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise.
Billionaire Amazon founder Mr Bezos was behind Shatner’s trip to the stars through his Blue Origin space travel company.
Shatner and three other passengers lifted off in the fully automated, 60ft tall New Shepard rocket from Van Horn, west Texas, slightly later than planned in order to give experts more time to monitor winds in the area.
We have confirmed separation of the capsule from the booster. Our astronauts are getting out of their seats and experiencing weightlessness. #NS18
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 13, 2021
According to a live stream of the historic event, Shatner and his fellow passengers reached an altitude of roughly 350,000ft and a velocity of about 2,000mph.
The actor and those on board experienced weightlessness as they reached the fringes of space.
After a trip lasting about 10 minutes, the capsule fell back to Earth with the aid of a parachute.
Shatner and his crewmates, dressed in their striking blue flight suits, rang a silver bell before being strapped into the capsule, with Mr Bezos closing the door behind them.
They were not required to wear helmets, with Blue Origin saying it wanted its passengers to have an unencumbered view of space.
Shatner is best known for playing the indomitable Captain Kirk in the Star Trek franchise.
He appeared in the original TV series in the 1960s and later starred in a series of films and remains inextricably tied to the character in the public imagination.
Shatner is now the oldest person to ever travel to space, breaking the record set in July by 82-year-old Wally Funk.
