90-year-old American actor .. the oldest person to travel from Earth to space
When the series "Star Trek" began in 1966, Americans had not yet reached the moon, but William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in that famous work, will become the first actor from the series' cast to actually go on a trip to space.
Shatner will set off on his flight from West Texas with three other passengers aboard a rocket made by American billionaire Jeff Bezos' company "Blue Origin" in the group's second manned mission.
"I intend to stay nailed to the window," the Canadian actor said in a video released by the company. I wish I didn't see a strange creature looking at me from the opposite side.”
Shatner, 90, will be the oldest passenger to reach the frontiers of Earth.
The decision by Blue Origin to invite a famous figure in the field of science fiction related to space is highly symbolic, and it will attract public interest in light of the ongoing race between the conquest of space companies.
In July, British billionaire Richard Branson took to space aboard a Virgin Galactic rocket. A few days later, Jeff Bezos did the same during the first manned flight of the New Shepard missile, this time carrying William Shatner.
As for SpaceX, it sent four tourists on a three-day trip into Earth's orbit in September. This mission was the focus of a series produced by "Netflix".
"Taking a famous actor like William Shatner, whose name has been associated with space, is injecting new momentum and causing a media frenzy," says Joe Sapowski, an expert in public relations at the University of North Carolina.
The science fiction series "Star Trek" was shown for only three seasons, starting in 1966, but it had a great impact on popular culture, and many films and series emerged from it.
Shatner played Captain Kirk, who commands the USS Enterprise on a five-year mission "to explore strange new worlds, search for new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no man has gone before."
Its actual flight into space will be much shorter, lasting no more than ten minutes, and the crew will travel just beyond the Karman Line, 100 kilometers above Earth.
The series aroused the interest of Americans in the space invasion, which was in its infancy, while at the same time touching on problems in American society.
The billionaire had a look in the movie adaptation of the "Star Trek Beyond" series (2016) as an alien.
The participation of the famous actor William Shatner, known for his sense of humor, is welcome in "Blue Origin", especially at a time when the Bezos company is exposed to many accusations against its work culture, especially due to the increasing accusations of sexual abuse in it.
And "Blue Origin" categorically denied these accusations, which were contained in a lengthy post it published some time ago on the blog of Alexandra Abrams, the former responsible for communicating with employees in the company.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news