Highlights From William Shatners Blue Origin Rocket Trip to Space – The New York Times

Oct. 13, 2021, 2:57 p.m. ET

More private space missions are scheduled in the coming months, an indication of how the wealthy are increasingly able to buy trips into orbit, or just to the edge of space.

Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese fashion mogul, plans to spend 12 days at the International Space Station, and document the experience, starting on Dec. 8. The trip was arranged by Space Adventures, a company that facilitates private jaunts to space, working with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.

Mr. Maezawa and his production assistant, Yozo Hirano, will travel to the station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Mr. Maezawa has long had extraplanetary aspirations. In 2018, he signed up for a flight with SpaceX, Elon Musks company, in the hope of one day traveling around the moon, a flight that may be years from occurring.

In February, 2021, three private astronauts will also fly to the space station in a Crew Dragon capsule made by SpaceX and booked by the company Axiom Space. Michael Lpez-Alegra, a retired NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president, will join them as the missions commander.

The three passengers will stay aboard the station for 10 days, and have each paid $55 million for the opportunity.

Another forthcoming private spaceflight with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origins main competitor in suborbital space tourism, will carry passengers who are not relying on their private wealth for tickets. Instead, the customers work for the Italian government.

Two are officers from the Italian Air Force and a third is an Italian scientist. The purpose of the trip, which is billed as Virgin Galactics first commercial research mission, is to study the effects of the transition from gravity to microgravity on the human body and other payloads.

Oct. 13, 2021, 2:32 p.m. ET

Joey Roulette

The crew took questions from reporters and television crews for roughly 20 minutes before posing for photos with Blue Origin employees on the launch pad.

Oct. 13, 2021, 2:26 p.m. ET

Blue Origin wants to go to the moon, build larger rockets and, according to Mr. Bezos, eventually move all polluting industries off Earth and into space.

The company is developing New Glenn, a reusable rocket that will be able to send nearly 100,000 pounds of satellites and other spacecraft into low-Earth orbit. The rockets debut launch, planned for late next year, has been delayed for roughly two years.

It is producing engines, known as BE-4, that will power New Glenn. And as another line of revenue, the company is selling those engines to its potential rival, United Launch Alliance, a rocket company co-owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin that has contracts to launch many NASA and Pentagon spacecraft to orbit and beyond.

Blue Origin is also developing a moon lander in a partnership with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper, a company that worked on flight software for the Apollo missions. The lander, called Blue Moon, is designed to ferry astronauts to and from the lunar surface. Blue Origin pitched Blue Moon to NASA for a $6 billion contract, but the agency, facing a funding shortfall, decided it could only afford to select a lower bid pitched by Elon Musks SpaceX instead. Blue Origin is suing NASA to overturn the decision.

Oct. 13, 2021, 2:22 p.m. ET

Joey Roulette

I wish I had broken the world record in the 10-yard dash, but unfortunately it was how old I was, Mr. Shatner said, responding to a question from a BBC reporter on how it felt to be the oldest person to go to space.

Oct. 13, 2021, 2:17 p.m. ET

Joey Roulette

During a live TV interview with a CNN reporter on the landing pad, Mr. Shatner said he felt his trip was more than tourism and something much deeper. Everyone needs to have the philosophical understanding of what were doing to Earth, he said.

Oct. 13, 2021, 2:09 p.m. ET

Joey Roulette

At a brief press conference at the pad where the New Shepard booster landed, Glen de Vries, one of the paying customers, said the crew had a moment of camraderie when they reached space. We actually just put our hands together, he said. Ms. Powers said we wanted to memorialize being together, there.

And then we enjoyed the view as much as we can, Mr. de Vries said

Oct. 13, 2021, 1:44 p.m. ET

transcript

transcript

Just unbelievable, unbelievable. I mean, you know, the little things but to see the blue color whip by, and now youre staring into blackness, thats the thing. The covering of blue is this sheet, this blanket, this comforter, this comforter of blue that we have around, we think, Oh, its blue sky. And then suddenly, you shoot through it all of the sudden as though youre whipping a sheet off you when youre asleep. And youre looking into blackness, into black ugliness and you look down, theres the blue down there and the black up there. And its just there is Mother Earth, comfort. And there is is there, death? I dont know was that death, is that the way death is? Whoop, and its gone. Jesus. It was so moving to me. What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine. Im so filled with emotion about what just happened. I just its extraordinary, extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I dont want to lose it. Its so so much larger than me and life. And this is now the commercial, everybody it would be so important for everybody to have that experience.

A half-century ago, a television show told young people that space travel would be the coolest thing ever. Some of them were even inspired to work toward that goal. Science fiction met reality on Wednesday as one of those fans, now one of the richest people in the world, gave the shows leading actor a brief ride up into the ether.

The mission went according to plan. The aftermath appeared unscripted, and all the better for it.

William Shatner, eternally famous as Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek, returned to Earth apparently moved by the experience beyond measure. His trip aboard Jeff Bezos rocket might have been conceived as a publicity stunt, but brushing the edge of the sky left the actor full of wonder mixed with unease:

It was unbelievable To see the blue cover go whoop by. And now youre staring into blackness. Thats the thing. The covering of blue, this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue that we have around us. We say, Oh thats blue sky. And then suddenly you shoot through it and all of a sudden, like you whip the sheet off you when youre asleep, youre looking into blackness.

Mr. Shatner was talking to Mr. Bezos immediately after exiting the capsule with the three other passengers. The others greeted their family and friends. Champagne corks popped. There was lots of laughter, high-spirited relief. But Mr. Shatner, a hale 90 standing in the West Texas dust, talked about space as the final frontier:

You look down, theres the blue down there, and the black up there. There is Mother and Earth and comfort and there is Is there death? I dont know. Was that death? Is that the way death is? Whoop and its gone. Jesus. It was so moving to me.

Mr. Bezos listened, still as a statue. Maybe he was just giving Mr. Shatner some space, but it was a sharp contrast to his appearance after his own brief spaceflight in July when he flew the same spacecraft as Mr. Shatner. Then, he held forth from a stage, rousing condemnation from critics of the vast company he founded as he thanked Amazons employees and customers for making it possible for him to finance his private space venture.

Or maybe Mr. Bezos was just acting naturally. His role model has always been the cool, passionless Mr. Spock rather than the emotional, impulsive Captain Kirk. Amazon, which prizes efficiency above all, was conceived and runs on this notion.

When he played at Star Trek as a boy, Mr. Bezos has said, he would sometimes take the role of the ships computer. Amazons voice-activated speaker Alexa was designed as a household version of the Star Trek computer, which always had the answer to every question.

The word death, repeatedly mentioned by Mr. Shatner in his post-flight monologue, is rarely thought of as a selling word for space tourism, which is after all what Blue Origin is promoting. But the actor did supply a positive endorsement.

Everybody in the world needs to do this, he said.

Oct. 13, 2021, 12:59 p.m. ET

After Blue Origins latest launch, much of the initial reaction focused more on William Shatners introduction to outer space than the particulars of the flight or issues with the company behind it.

Space agencies, celebrities and astronauts said they were thrilled to see Mr. Shatner, who is 90 and known to generations of science fiction fans as Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek television series, become the oldest person to enter space.

Twitter accounts for the U.S. Space Force and NASA both congratulated Mr. Shatner, in messages that included emojis of the Vulcan hand gesture that means Live long and prosper.

You are, and always shall be, our friend, NASAs message said, paraphrasing what Spock, Captain Kirks longtime first officer, said to Mr. Kirk as he died in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Sue Nelson, a science journalist who wrote a book about Wally Funk, the woman who became the oldest person in space on Blue Origins first crewed launch in July, wrote on Twitter that she initially had mixed feelings about today because William Shatner is about to break my friend Wally Funks short lived record.

Ms. Nelson, a Star Trek fan, later said that she loved Mr. Shatners emotional reaction upon landing.

Hes right of course, she said on Twitter. The Earths atmosphere is fragile. Space travel is extraordinary.

Astronauts congratulated Mr. Shatner, too. Garrett Reisman, a retired NASA astronaut, shared a photo of himself dressed as Captain Kirk.

This is a picture of a guy who went to space pretending to be a guy who pretended to be a guy who went to space who has now gone to space, Mr. Reisman said.

Another retired NASA astronaut, Nicole Stott, thanked Mr. Shatner on Twitter for sharing his feelings of awe and wonder after he left the capsule.

Mr. Shatner was emotional, and loquacious, after he returned to Earth. He embraced Jeff Bezos, who owns Blue Origin and flew on its voyage in July, and tried to capture the experience in words.

What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine, Mr. Shatner said, adding that I hope I never recover from this, I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I dont want to lose it.

Joey Roulette contributed reporting.

Oct. 13, 2021, 12:00 p.m. ET

Almost 600 people have been in space, and before Wednesday, 48 of them were private individuals who were not government employees, according to data compiled by Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astronomer and spaceflight data tracker. A little over a dozen of those 48 were tourists, while the rest included researchers or employees of space companies, like Ms. Powers, the Blue Origin executive flying with Mr. Shatner on behalf of the company.

The NS-18 crew has increased the number of private spacefarers to 52.

The first space tourist was Toyohiro Akiyama, a Japanese television journalist who launched to Mir, the Russian space station, in 1990. He spent seven days aboard. Picked among 163 candidates, the Tokyo Broadcasting Service paid for Mr. Akiyamas seat aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket, which until this year was the only vehicle that carried tourists to space.

Dennis Tito, an American engineer and businessman, became the first person to fund their own trip to space in 2001, launching to the International Space Station for an eight-day stay.

Other private individuals have gone to space, but they generally wouldnt be construed as tourists because they were traveling on something like an official business trip. That includes the Russian film crew that launched to the space station last week. Yulia Peresild, a Russian actress, and Klim Shipenko, a film director and producer, are shooting scenes on the orbital laboratory as part of the first full-length feature film made in space. The crew is backed by Channel One Russia and Roscosmos, Russias space agency.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:53 a.m. ET

Joey Roulette

Blue Origin says the crews capsule reached a peak altitude of 65.8 miles after ascending atop New Shepard at speeds of up to 2,235 miles per hour. In all, the mission lasted 10 minutes and 17 seconds

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:51 a.m. ET

Joey Roulette

The crew is expected to drive to the pad where the New Shepard booster landed to speak with reporters about their flight.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:29 a.m. ET

Mr. Shatner told Mr. Bezos, What I would love to do is to communicate as much as possible the jeopardy, the vulnerability of everything. He added, This air which is keeping us alive is thinner than your skin.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:28 a.m. ET

Blue Origin considers the customers who fly aboard the New Shepard spacecraft to be astronauts, but the Federal Aviation Administration, which formally grants governmental recognition to astronauts, has yet to say it agrees.

Since 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates how space companies run their launch sites, has awarded private crews aboard private spacecraft Commercial Space Astronaut Wings small gold pins that officially designate a passenger as a commercial astronaut.

The pins are akin to the badges awarded to military pilots who reached space in the 1960s, and only a handful of private citizens have received the wings. Beth Moses, Virgin Galactics chief astronaut instructor, was the most recent recipient after her SpaceShipTwo flight to space in 2019.

But all the private activity in space lately has spurred adjustments to the F.A.A.s pinning process.

On the day Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin and Amazon, launched to space in July, the agency revised its criteria for awarding the wings, requiring individuals who go to space to be classified as a crew member, rather than just a spaceflight participant.

To be a crew member, the person must have completed training before their mission on how to carry out his or her role on board or on the ground so that the vehicle will not harm the public, the rules state. Crew members also must have demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety.

Still, the head of the F.A.A.'s commercial space office also has discretion to grant an honorary astronaut status to anyone who flies to space and demonstrates extraordinary contribution or beneficial service to commercial spaceflight.

Blue Origin calls its New Shepard passengers astronauts and awarded its first crew Mr. Bezos, his brother Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen its own company-branded pins in a ceremony hours after their flight. The crews of Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic flight in July and SpaceXs Inspiration4 orbital mission in September received similar pins from those companies.

Blue Origin has submitted applications to the F.A.A. for a formal designation of the passengers as commercial astronauts, but it has yet to receive a determination, a company spokeswoman said. The F.A.A. declined to say whether Mr. Shatner or any of his fellow passengers could be classified as commercial astronauts.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:26 a.m. ET

Joey Roulette

After celebrations around the capsule, the crew lined up to get custom astronaut pins from Blue Origin. Mr. Bezos fastened the pins to each passenger. OK, guys, we have four astronauts before you, he said.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:17 a.m. ET

Joey Roulette

"I'm so filled with emotion with what just happened, Mr. Shatner said to Mr. Bezos on the ground, breaking into tears. "I hope I never recover from this," he added.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:14 a.m. ET

Joey Roulette

Mr. Shatner was next to exit the capsule and began describing his experience to Mr. Bezos, Its indescribable, he said.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:14 a.m. ET

Joey Roulette

Family and friends met the passengers outside the capsule as they exited. Ms. Powers, the Blue Origin vice president, emerged first, hugging her sister.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:12 a.m. ET

Blue Origin has declined to publicly state a price for a ticket to fly on New Shepard. The company is nearing $100 million in sales so far, Mr. Bezos has said. But its unclear how many ticket holders that includes.

We dont know quite yet when Blue Origin will publicly announce a price, Mr. Bezos told reporters in July after his flight to space. Right now were doing really well with private sales.

Oliver Daemen, the Dutch teenager aboard Blue Origins first crewed flight in July, was occupying a seat that the company auctioned off for $28 million, a steep number that even shocked some company executives. Of that total, $19 million was donated equally to 19 space organizations.

Mr. Daemen, 18, wasnt the winning bidder. His father, a private equity executive, was the runner-up in the auction and was next in line after the actual winner. That individual, who has not been named, plunked down $28 million before postponing their trip over a scheduling conflict, Blue Origin said at the time.

Tickets to the edge of space on Virgin Galactics SpaceShipTwo were hiked to $450,000 in August, from $250,000, when the company reopened ticket sales after a yearslong hiatus.

Flights to orbit a much higher altitude than Blue Origin or Virgin Galactics trips go are far more expensive. Three passengers to the International Space Station next year are paying $55 million each for their seats on a SpaceX rocket, bought through the company Axiom Space.

Many wealthy customers and space company executives see the steep ticket prices as early investments into the nascent space tourism industry, hoping the money they put down can help lower the cost of launching rockets.

Oct. 13, 2021, 11:11 a.m. ET

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Highlights From William Shatners Blue Origin Rocket Trip to Space - The New York Times