Watch Blue Origin send 90-year-old William Shatner to space on a rocket

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company, has announced its next high-profile spaceflight: In two weeks, it'll launch a 90-year-old man to an altitude of roughly 62 miles above Earth. Who is this person? None other than Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise.

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That's right: Actor William Shatner is flying out to the great beyond in real life via Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-18 rocket. He'll be considered the oldest person to fly to space, a record previously held by aviator Wally Flunk, who flew on Blue Origin's first crewed flight of New Shepard just a few months ago. If you're a Star Trek fan who wants to see Kirk lift-off, or perhaps you want to be a part of history by watching the oldest person in space, here's how. 

When is Shatner's Blue Origin spaceflight?

Shatner will fly into space with Blue Origin on Tuesday 12 October 2021 around 8:30am CDT. Here are a few different local times:

• 9:30am ET
• 6:30am PT
• 2:30pm BST

Who is joining Shatner's Blue Origin spaceflight?

Shatner will be joined on the flight by the following crewmates:

• Audrey Powers, a VP at Blue Origin
• Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer who co-founded Planet Labs
• Glen de Vries, co-founder of Medidata and a vice chair at Dassault Systemes

TMZ has claimed Shatner’s flight will be filmed as part of a documentary.

How far into space is Shatner flying?

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is designed to launch vertically. It'll lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas carrying four passengers in a crew capsule that's on top. It'll climb to an altitude of 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth. At that point, the capsule and the rocket should separate, and both parts will fall back to Earth (with the capsule and passengers hopefully safely touching down). In total, the flight will last about 10 minutes.

How to watch Shatner fly into space

Blue Origin said it will host live launch coverage on BlueOrigin.com at T-90 minutes. Liftoff is currently targeted for 8:30am CDT.

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