JAKARTA - After experiencing schedule delays due to bad weather, Star Trek actor, William Shatner has managed to become the oldest person to fly into space. The 90-year-old was one of the four crew members of the mission NS-18 Blue Origin as it flew to an altitude of 66 miles (106.2 km) above Earth this week.
Shatner surpassed 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who set a record age while gliding with owner Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin last July. Funk, who was a former astronaut trainee, was denied the opportunity to fly before he joined Bezos on his plane.
"It wasn't like anything they described it to be", said Shatner shortly before landing.
Shatner glides aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft. This is the same vehicle that took Bezos into space with three other crew members. Bezos is known as a lifelong "Star Trek" fan, flying the Shatner was a must for him.
Compiled from CNN International, Thursday, October 14, on the short flight, Shatner was accompanied by three other crew members Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of satellite company Planet Labs, and software executive Glen de Vries, both paying passengers, and Audrey Powers, deputy Blue Origin's president of mission and flight operations.
"What you have given me is the most profound experience, I was so filled with emotion, it was incredible. I hope I never recover from this. I hope I can keep what I feel now", said Shatner.
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This trip didn't go exactly like the interplanetary voyage that Shatner captained during his acting career. The New Shepard flight lasts only ten minutes from takeoff to landing and gives passengers about three minutes of weightless time.
The crew sat in the capsule aboard the 60-mile (95.5 km) New Shepard rocket yesterday, Wednesday, October 13. Passing the Karman Line, which is at an altitude of 62 miles (99.7 km), is a line used to delimit the beginning of outer space with Earth. After descending from space, the parachute then spreads over the capsule to slow its descent.
Shatner's flight marked the second of what Blue Origin had hoped for, by making multiple launches of space tours, and taking passengers who could afford millions of dollars to the edge of space.
This could be a line of business that helps fund Blue Origin's other more ambitious space projects, including developing a 300-foot rocket powerful enough to blast satellites into orbit and lunar landers.
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