Elon Musk’s SpaceX made its first private voyage in mid-September, though without Musk on board. Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson went into space in his own rocket ship in July, followed by Bezos nine days later on Blue Origin’s first flight with a crew. ![]() The flight comes as the space tourism industry finally takes off, with passengers joyriding aboard ships built and operated by some of the richest men in the world. “William Shatner is setting the bar for what a 90-year-old man can do.” Shatner going into space is “the most badass thing I think I’ve ever seen,” said Joseph Barra, a bartender who helped cater the launch week festivities. Blue Origin said Shatner and the rest of the crew met all the medical and physical requirements, including the ability to hustle up and down several flights of steps at the launch tower. Passengers are subjected to nearly 6 G’s, or six times the force of Earth’s gravity, as the capsule descends. ![]() Welcome to Earth!” a jubilant Bezos said as he opened the hatch of the New Shepard capsule, named for first American in space, Alan Shepard. He was there to greet them when the capsule floated back to Earth under its brilliant blue-and-red parachutes. Bezos said his mother had saved them for 48 years.īezos himself drove the four crew members to the launch pad, accompanied them to the platform high above the ground and cranked the hatch shut after they climbed aboard the 60-foot rocket. was racing for the moon, and went on to appear in a string of “Star Trek” movies.īezos is a huge “Star Trek” fan - the Amazon founder had a cameo as an alien in one of the later movies - and Shatner rode free as his invited guest.Īs a favor to Bezos, Shatner took up into space some “Star Trek” tricorders and communicators - sort of the iPhones of the future - that Bezos made when he was a 9-year-old Trekkie. Shatner starred in TV’s original “Star Trek” from 1966 to 1969, when the U.S. ![]() "I guess this means I have to become a marine biologist.The flight brought priceless star power to Bezos’ space-tourism business, given its built-in appeal to baby boomers, celebrity watchers and space enthusiasts. "My man!" Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander wrote of Shatner's late-career pivot. What a miracle," Shatner said.Īfter the news broke on Monday, Shatner spent the morning thanking well-wishers and exuding excitement about his upcoming trip. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. "I've heard about space for a long time now. ![]() Shatner will be visiting space more than 50 years after he first took TV audiences to alien worlds as the fictional captain of the USS Enterprise on Star Trek. "I'm so proud and humbled to fly on behalf of Team Blue," Powers said in a news release about the voyage. The final member of the crew will be Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers, a former NASA flight controller and engineer who oversees the New Shepard program's flight operations. Shatner will be part of a four-person crew that includes Planet Labs co-founder Chris Boshuizen and Medidata co-founder Glen de Vries - whom Blue Origin refers to as both customers and astronauts, reflecting the new era of privatized space travel. Blue Origin sent its first human flight into space in July, with billionaire founder Jeff Bezos and others aboard. The flight is scheduled to lift off from a launch pad in Texas next Tuesday morning.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |