Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
The race for commercialized space flight and travel shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin continuing to lead the field. However, it looks like the man who boldly went where nobody had gone before (on television, anyways) is set to be part of Blue Origin’s next flight. Legendary Canadian film star William Shatner is going to be part of New Shepherd tourist spaceflight later this October.
Blue Origin announced Shatner’s participation in its next mission in a press release on its website on October 4, 2021. In its 18th mission, Blue Origin will be sending its latest New Shepherd rocket off with William Shatner joining the crew. Other participants will include Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers, Planet Labs co-founder Chris Boshuizen, and Medidata co-founder Glen de Vries. The mission is set to take place on October 12, 2021, at 5 a.m. PT / 8 a.m. ET. The Blue Origin Twitter and website will host the flight, as well as details on how to watch.
Blue Origin has done several spaceflights and recently began doing tourist flights as well, with Bezos himself taking part in one of the flights in July 2021, though there was criticism that the flight didn’t actually make it that far into space. There have been other criticisms as well. Elon Musk and Bezos have butt heads recently with Musk bashing Bezos for a lawsuit against SpaceX. There have also been allegations of toxicity in the Blue Origin workplace as workers have apparently reported unfavorable work conditions.
Nonetheless, Blue Origin continues to move forward with its efforts in commercial space travel. Hopefully, at the very least, Shatner is able to touch the stars and make it back safely to the surface with no mishaps. Stay tuned as we continue to follow the Blue Origin New Shepherd launch later this October.