Beam Me Up, Jeff! William Shatner Lends Blue Origin Star Power
When Star Trek first aired in 1966, America was still three years away from putting people on the Moon and the idea that people could one day live and work in space seemed like a fantasy.
On October 12, William Shatner -- Captain James T. Kirk to Trekkies -- is set to become the first member of the iconic show's cast to journey to the final frontier, as a guest aboard a Blue Origin suborbital rocket.
For fans, the 10-minute hop from a West Texas base back to Earth will be a fitting coda for a pop culture phenomenon that inspired generations of astronauts.
"I plan to be looking out the window with my nose pressed against the window, the only thing that I don't want to see is a little gremlin looking back at me," the 90-year-old Canadian, who will become the oldest person ever to go to space, joked in a video release.
Blue Origin's decision to invite one of the most recognizable galaxy-faring characters from science fiction for its second crewed flight has helped maintain excitement around the nascent space tourism sector, as the novelty starts to wear off.
This summer saw flamboyant British entrepreneur Richard Branson fly just beyond the atmosphere in a Virgin Galactic vessel on July 9, beating the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by a few days in their battle of the billionaire space barons.
Elon Musk's SpaceX sent four private astronauts to orbit the Earth for three days as part of the Inspiration4 mission in September, which raised more than $200 million for charity.
"Bringing on a celebrity like William Shatner, who's related to space, brings a kind of renewed novelty, and creates media and cultural attention," Joe Czabovsky, an expert in public relations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill told AFP. Source
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