Star Trek hero William Shatner became the world’s oldest person to travel to space on Wednesday as he reached the “final frontier” alongside a crew from Blue Origin.
The four-person team launched from remote Van Horn, Texas, on board the Jeff Bezos-funded spacecraft. The brief flight allowed the Hollywood science fiction star to make his lifelong dream of flying to space a reality.
Known as Captain James T. Kirk to millions of Star Trek fans, many supporters watched the live feed of the space mission as the shuttle reached the fringe of space before landing via a capsule parachute.
“At Blue Origin, we are motivated by the dreamers that inspire us and the builders who turn those dreams into reality. Today’s crew represented both dreamers and builders. We had the honor of flying our very own Audrey Powers, Vice President of New Shepard Operations, who fulfilled a lifelong dream to go to space and has been an integral part of building New Shepard.
“This flight was another step forward in flying astronauts safely and often. It’s an incredible team and we are just getting started,” Smith added.
The space flight was initially scheduled for Tuesday. The schedule was changed to Wednesday following weather concerns.
“I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” Shatner said in a statement prior to the flight.
“It was unbelievable. The little things—the weightless—but to see the blue color (of the sky) whip by you and now you’re staring into blackness,” Shatner said following the flight.
Shatner also shared about his experience in a Twitter post following the space flight.
“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself, I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now & then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me,” he said.
