[ad_1]
Company founder Jeff Bezos was there to greet the crew as they climbed out of the capsule.
William Shatner of Star Trek, one of the most well-known characters in science fiction, Become a real-life space traveler on Wednesday The second human mission of Blue Origin.
“This is incredible,” said the 90-year-old Canadian, who was moved to tears after leaving the earth’s atmosphere and returning to the Texas desert for 11 minutes.
The New Shepard rocket took off at 9:49 am (1449 GMT) after two short delays.
Joining Shatner are Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers, Planet Labs co-founder Chris Boshuizen (Australian national), and Glen de Vries of Medidata Solutions, a clinical research platform.
Please also read:
Look: UAE simulated astronauts trained to live in conditions similar to Mars
Australia plans lunar rover to help NASA find oxygen on the moon
Company founder Jeff Bezos When they climbed out of the capsule and won applause, they were ready to welcome the crew.
Like the 600 or so astronauts before him, Shatner was amazed by the experience of weightlessness and the magnificent view of the Earth from space.
“What you gave me is the deepest experience I can imagine. I am full of emotion for what just happened,” he told Bezos.
This is the first voyage of RSS today.Its mission: to meet the earth in the incredible scenery of apogee pic.twitter.com/Gzsnkv97K9
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) October 13, 2021
The mission was a replay of the company’s first manned flight in July, which included Bezos, and was seen as a breakthrough moment for the emerging space tourism industry.
This time, everyone’s attention was focused on Shatner, who became the oldest astronaut in history, even though his appearance suggested that he was decades younger.
With the launch of the US space program, the interstellar voyage of the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, played by Shatner, helped Americans turn their attention to the stars.
Screenwriter and Trek historian Marc Cushman told AFP: “Captain Kirk…for generations in the United States and around the world, he may represent the’last’ more than anyone else. boundary’.”
Shatner is also known for his work as attorney Denny Crane in “Boston Law” and others. He has talked about the sometimes difficult relationship with Star Trek and its fan culture in the past.
But in recent years, the actor has relied on the fame brought by his most famous role.
“It looks like this fictional character, Captain Kirk, has a lot of curiosity,” he said in a video posted by Blue Origin.
“Let us follow it and enjoy the journey.”
At the same time, for Blue Origin, the second mission in less than three months represents another step forward as it tries to establish itself as a leader in space tourism.
Boshuizen and Vries increased the company’s total number of paying customers to three, second only to the Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen who took the first flight.
Competition in this industry is heating up.
Virgin Galactic provides a similar experience of several minutes of weightlessness and observation of the curvature of the earth from the universe. It launched its founder Richard Branson in July, a few days before Bezos.
In September, SpaceX sent four ordinary citizens on a three-day round-the-world trip—a more ambitious but potentially much more expensive effort.
For many space enthusiasts, Shatner’s voyage is the appropriate end of a pop culture phenomenon that has inspired generations of astronauts, scientists, and engineers.
According to writer Cushman, the show has a long-term relationship with NASA, and NASA scientists received early scripts to review its accuracy.
“These scientists, and almost everyone in these space agencies, are avid Star Trek observers, and they know that the popularity of the series will help stimulate interest and funding for the space program,” he said.
Another big fan: Bezos himself.
The Amazon founder shared on Instagram his “Star Trek” artwork created when he was 9 years old, including a communication device that influenced the design of flip phones decades later.
Bezos once said that Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant was inspired by the conversational computer on the Enterprise, and he even starred an alien in the 2016 movie “Star Trek” with an egg-shaped head.
[ad_2]
Source link