William Shatner, the actor best known for playing Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek series, will finally take off into space for real. The iconic Canadian actor is set to fly into planetary orbit on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket next month.
According to a report from TMZ, the 90-year-old actor will boldly go where only a few men have gone before aboard the second-ever flight of the New Shepard Capsule. Given Shatner’s age, the feat will make him the oldest person in history to go to space. TMZ also reported the flight will be filmed for a documentary Shatner is working on—and that the actor would likely be comped for his flight.
For an actor who came to prominence at the height of the Cold War’s space race of the 1960s, it’s fitting that Shatner should be one of the first people to take humanity into the competition into space: One dominated by billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who seek to commercialize space flight.
Bezos first took his rocket out for a spin earlier this year in July, when it reached an altitude of 66.5 miles and lingered for a few minutes in Earth’s orbit before making its way back down.
Although William Shatner is best known for his early career stint as Captain Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise, the actor has kept busy throughout his long and decade-spanning career, appearing in shows like $#*! My Dad Says and Psych. More recently, Shatner has starred in the film Senior Moment and is set to appear in the upcoming series The Elevator, which remains as of yet unrevealed.
