Captain James T. Kirk finally travel to Space with Blue Origin rocket!

Legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner became the oldest person to travel to space at age 90;
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flew yesterday the actor William Shatner and three others to the edge of space Wednesday morning, the latest flight aimed at establishing the fledgling space-tourism market.

Blue Origin launched the passengers at 10:49 a.m. ET from the company’s facility in West Texas. It brought them back around 10 minutes later in a passenger capsule that deployed parachutes for the landing. At its peak, the capsule transporting the passengers reached an altitude of 66.5 miles, according to the company.

‘Everyone in the world needs to do this,’ William Shatner told Jeff Bezos after landing on Wednesday.

Bill Shatner, 90 years old, is now the oldest person to have reached space and, after he exited the capsule Wednesday morning, he said he was struck by the contrast of the blue atmosphere with the black expanse of space.

“Everybody in the world needs to do this,” he told Bezos, who accompanied the passengers until they boarded the capsule for the flight and met them after the landing.

The mission follows other privately orchestrated space flights carrying people who aren’t traditional astronauts: Blue Origin launched its owner Bezos himself in July, and Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. separately flew its founder, Richard Branson, to the edge of space. Elon Musk’s SpaceX last month completed a three-day orbital mission paid for by the billionaire chief executive of a payments company.

Blue Origin’s launch of Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on the original “Star Trek’’ series and seven of the ST franchise movies, and the three others made Wednesday’s flight a high-profile event in news coverage and on social-media platforms all over the world. The company livestreamed the flight with its own hosts discussing the effort, similar to how other space companies, including SpaceX, have promoted their own launches to wider audiences.

"Having someone like Mr. Shatner on board helps generate attention for the flight", said Joseph Czabovsky, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina who worked with the Harris Poll to measure public perceptions private space flights after Messrs. Bezos and Branson flew this summer. “For better or worse, celebrity matters,” Czabovsky said.

Not only Shatner, along with Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations, didn’t pay for Wednesday’s flight, but he was very well paid according to various sources, with the company previously describing both as "guests" for the trip.

The two others, Glen de Vries, co-founder of the clinical-research software company Medidata Solutions, and Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of the Earth data company Planet Labs Inc. paid for their tickets, according to Blue Origin. The company hasn’t disclosed prices, and Messrs. Boshuizen and de Vries declined to comment on the costs.

Boshuizen said in an interview earlier this month that he believes human spaceflight will become more accessible over time because companies like Blue Origin are reusing vehicles for multiple trips. “I want people to know it’s for them as well,” he said of such launches.

Wednesday’s flight was the second time Blue Origin has transported people to space and the company’s 19th consecutive completion of a successful landing for its crew capsule, Blue Origin said. That vehicle is stacked atop one of the New Shepard rockets for space tourism flights.

The uptick in human space flight handled by commercial enterprises is part of entrepreneurs’ and investors’ broader interest in space as a venue for economic activity. Startups have developed businesses to provide fuel for satellites and to capture and sell data about Earth, as well as helping to launch rockets. Larger aerospace companies have also made investments in vehicles and services.

Demand for space tourism is still being tested, with relatively few opportunities available right now for flights. For companies delving into the market, “the key question is what will happen when they move away from special customers” like wealthy people, said Roger Handberg, a University of Central Florida professor who studies space policy.

After its capsule landed Wednesday, Blue Origin said it planned one more flight with people on board this year and is working on several trips for 2022. In July, Mr. Bezos said the company was nearing $100 million in sales for space-tourism launches.

Such flights could generate roughly $4 billion in annual revenue by 2030, according to UBS analysts. Ticket prices, however, remain out of reach for most people, with Virgin Galactic, for example, charging at least $450,000 a seat.
Taken and adapted from wjs and cbs websites.

Boldy going where no senior citizen has gone before. Good for you, Bill!

tony ingram wrote:Good for you, Bill!

Yeah, this was incredibly cool. I'm very glad it happened, despite that I despise Bezos's goofy rocket.

Hey, I'd be on it in a heartbeat!

I'm not a fan of Bezos.

Mbast1 wrote:I'm not a fan of Bezos.

But the chance to see the Earth from space with your own eyes would be incredible, regardless of who got you there. It's got to be an unmissable experience.

tony ingram wrote:

Mbast1 wrote:I'm not a fan of Bezos.

But the chance to see the Earth from space with your own eyes would be incredible, regardless of who got you there. It's got to be an unmissable experience.

Well, I'm not big on flying on airplanes (haven't done that in over twenty years, but I also haven't had any reason to do so), and I'm not even a big fan of roller coaster rides, so I don't think I'd be likely to try it even if the opportunity for a free ride into space came my way.

tony ingram wrote:It's got to be an unmissable experience.

Right, and I really agree with this. I would be scared out of my mind, I don't like heights, but were I given the chance I'd have to say yes. I'd never forgive myself otherwise.

MajorHoy wrote:

tony ingram wrote:

Mbast1 wrote:I'm not a fan of Bezos.

But the chance to see the Earth from space with your own eyes would be incredible, regardless of who got you there. It's got to be an unmissable experience.

Well, I'm not big on flying on airplanes (haven't done that in over twenty years, but I also haven't had any reason to do so), and I'm not even a big fan of roller coaster rides, so I don't think I'd be likely to try it even if the opportunity for a free ride into space came my way.

Ground Control to Major Hoy. Don't be such a nervous boy. Planet Earth is blue, as you'll see if you come too...