William Shatner To Fly Aboard Blue Origin Oct. 12

Willian Shatner, star of classic spacefaring series Star Trek, is the newest addition to Blue Origin's NS-18 flight set for launch on October 12.

This comes on the heels of its first successful manned spaceflight in July, which brought four astronauts on an 11-minute voyage over 300,000 feet. Shatner is joined by Audrey Powers, longtime employee and overseer of Blue Origin's flight operations. 

The occasion has been well received by fans of space travel, science fiction, and pop culture, given Shatner's place in the pantheon of American media giants. His depiction of the fictional Captain James T. Kirk began in 1966 and has spanned a lifetime of work within the Star Trek Franchise. News that he will finally be heading to space off-stage has excited many in the aviation and engineering communities, with well-wishers sharing their congratulations on his Twitter account. His engagement with online communities there have further driven his popularity across demographics, maintaining a level of cachet that many of his industry cohorts have not. He addressed rumors of his flight status on twitter after speculation placed him as a very likely candidate for the next launch aboard New Shepard. "So now I can say something. Yes, it's true, I'm going to be a 'rocket man'!" When he takes flight, he will have a chance to become the oldest person to have flown in space, a record only recently set by previous Blue Origin Alumnus, 82 year-old Wally funk. 

Shatner will be joined aloft by Audrey Powers, longtime Blue Origin personnel and New Shepard Flight Operations overseer. Her role as an astronaut is only her most recent, having worked as Deputy General Counsel and Vice President of Legal & Compliance within the company. Previously, at NASA, she attained 2,000 hours of console time in Mission Control for the International Space Station Program. Finally, she serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. Undoubtedly, her experience across the fields of Law, Aviation, Regulation, and Space Operations have been invaluable to the project.

Her long history with the company allows her a unique perspective on the travails and development of the spacecraft. “I was part of the amazing effort we assembled for New Shepard’s Human Flight Certification Review, a years-long initiative completed in July 2021. As an engineer and lawyer with more than two decades of experience in the aerospace industry, I have great confidence in our New Shepard team and the vehicle we’ve developed.” 

FMI: www.BlueOrigin.com