After a small delay, William Shatner became the oldest person to fly into space. The 90-year-old Star Trek icon was one of four crew members on Blue Origin’s NS-18 mission while flying to an altitude of 66 miles. Thus, he surpassed 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who broke the previous age record just a few months ago.
Also on the new Shepard flight was Blue Origin Vice President Audrey Powers, Planet Labs co-founder Dr. Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries, co-creator of Medidata, also took part. This was the second of three crewed missions Blue Origin has planned for 2021.
Age doesn’t seem to be much of a constraint for short trips into space. It’s also a dream come true for anyone who wants to see Captain Kirk go into space in real life; although he’s not running a starship. . .
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