William Shatner heading to space on Blue Origin rocket
ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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Star Trek’s Captain Kirk heading to space on Blue Origin rocket (NCD)
ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Capt. James T. Kirk of “Star Trek” is heading to space next week.
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Photos: William Shatner through the years Here are some memorable moments from actor William Shatner's life in the public eye. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1966: American actor Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and Canadian actor William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk appear in a scene from "The Man Trap," the premiere episode of "Star Trek," which aired on September 8, 1966. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1969: Yvonne Craig plays Marta (a green alien from Orion) and William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk on the "Star Trek: The Original Series" episode, "Whom Gods Destroy." (CBS via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1974: Robert Reed, Marjoe Gortner, Andy Griffith and William Shatner appear in the ABC TV movie "Pray for the Wildcats." (American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1979: William Shatner and wife Marcy Lafferty attend the premiere of "The Cina Syndrome" on March 6, 1979, at Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1982: Leonard Nimoy, Marvin Chomsky and William Shatner appear at the 34th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, on September 19, 1982. (George Long/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1985: T.J. Hooker, a CBS television police drama. Pictured from left are James Darren (as Officer Jim Corrigan), Heather Locklear (as Officer Stacy Sheridan) and William Shatner (as Sgt. T.J. Hooker). (CBS via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1987: Actor William Shatner and date Marcy Lafferty arrive at the 1987 Academy Awards. (Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1990: William Shatner attends 16th annual People's Choice Awards on March 11, 1990, at the Universal Ampitheater in Universal City, California. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1992: Loni Anderson, Ann-Margret and William Shatner during Environment Special Taping With William Shatner at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 1995: Actor William Shatner during an interview with host Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on May 31, 1995. (Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2000: Candice Bergen and William Shatner during the "Miss Congeniality" Los Angeles Premiere at Mann Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Sam Levi/WireImage)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2002: Actors Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner appear at a public signing of the recently released DVD/VHS of "Mind Meld: Secrets behind the voyage of a Lifetime" on March 17, 2002, in Los Angeles. (J. Emilio Flores/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2004: Actor William Shatner poses with his award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series backstage at the 2004 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 12, 2004, at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2006: Actor William Shatner and wife Elizabeth Anderson Martin arrive at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on August 27, 2006, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2008: Actor William Shatner and Elizabeth Anderson Martin arrive at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre on September 21, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2009: Actor William Shatner accepts the Ultimate Scream award from actor Morgan Freeman onstage during Spike TV's Scream 2009 held at the Greek Theatre on October 17, 2009, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2011: Figure skater and TV personality Scott Hamilton, rock legend Joe Walsh, Lionel Richie and actor William Shatner attend the 2011 CMT Artists of the Year celebration at the Bridgestone Arena on November 29, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2013: Actor William Shatner and wife Elizabeth Shatner depart the Oscars at Hollywood and Highland Center on February 24, 2013, in Hollywood, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2015: Co-host Brad Paisley, actor William Shatner and co-host Carrie Underwood speak onstage at the 49th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 4, 2015, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2016: Actors Scott Bakula and William Shatner attend the "Star Trek" panel during Comic-Con International 2016 at San Diego Convention Center on July 23, 2016, in San Diego. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2018: LeVar Burton, Sonequa Martin-Green, Walter Koenig, Jeri Ryan, Alex Kurtzman and William Shatner pose in the press room at the 2018 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 8, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years 2019: William Shatner and Jeff Cook of Alabama are seen at The Grand Ole Opry on February 15, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Photos: William Shatner through the years William Shatner speaks at the William Shatner Spotlight panel during Day 1 of New York Comic Con 2021 at Jacob Javits Center on October 07, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ReedPop) (Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for ReedPop)
Photos: William Shatner through the years Star Trek actor William Shatner speaks during a media availability on the landing pad of Blue Origin’s New Shepard after flying into space on October 13, 2021 near Van Horn, Texas. Shatner became the oldest person to fly into space on the ten minute flight. He flew with three other civilians aboard mission NS-18, the second human spaceflight for the company which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Officials with Blue Origin on Monday announced that actor William Shatner, 90, will launch fly aboard the company’s New Shepard NS-18 on Oct. 12 alongside the company’s vice president of mission and flight operations, Audrey Powers, and crewmates Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries.
“I’ve heard about space for a long time now,” Shatner, who famously portrayed Capt. Kirk from 1966 to 1969 in the original Star Trek series, in several Star Trek movies between 1979 and 1994 and numerous other times over the course of the franchise’s history, said in a news release. “I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.”
Shatner has hosted “The UnXplained” since 2019 on The History Channel, a show that delves into the world’s mysteries, including some that originate from outer space.
The NS-18 is set to lift off at 8:30 a.m. CDT Oct. 12 from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas.
Blue Origin launched its first successful human flight in July, sending the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, into space alongside his brother, Mark Bezos, aviation pioneer Wally Funk and the company’s first customer, Oliver Daemen.
The Blue Origin flight happened days after British billionaire Richard Branson went to space.
