Jeff Bezos’ spaceflight company Blue Origin announced it was delaying an upcoming flight that was meant to carry “Star Trek” actor William Shatner aboard. The delay was made due to anticipated winds. The flight was originally scheduled for Oct. 12.
“Due to forecasted winds on Tuesday, Oct. 12, Blue Origin’s mission operations team has made the decision to delay the launch of NS-18 and is now targeting Wednesday, Oct. 13,” a Blue Origin spokeswoman said in a statement. The new flight is target to lift off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in Texas on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m CST.
Shatner, famously known for playing Captain James T. Kirk in the 1960s TV series “Star Trek,” is set to become the first member of the show’s cast to make the journey to space. Perhaps more notably, Shatner, at the age of 90 years old, will also be the oldest person to ever go to space.
The trip is scheduled to take Shatner and the NS-18 crew just beyond the Karman line, 62 miles high, where they will experience four minutes of weightlessness. The crew will also be able to observe the curvature of the planet. This flight will be Blue Origin’s second crewed expedition. The addition of one of the most recognized actors from space exploration television to this launch aims to stir excitement around the space tourism sector. The first crewed flight of Blue Origin occurred back in July and included Bezos, his brother Mark, aviator Wally Funk and Oliver Daeman as its crew.
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Shatner will be joined by Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer and co-founder of Planet Labs; Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata; and Audrey Power, Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations.
