What is William Shatner's age? Star Trek star reportedly set to become oldest man to fly to space with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin

It was in the audiobook of Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden, where William Shatner’s character Captain Jim Kirk said:

“Beam me up, Scotty!”

The phrase has since been synonymous with the 1960s ever-popular Star Trek: The Original Series. Now, it seems William Shatner will actually have an adventure in space.

According to a TMZ report on September 24, Star Trek star William Shatner will be a passenger on Jeff Bezos’ rocket company’s second human space flight. Previously, on July 20, Bezos himself was on the maiden voyage of the first human crewed mission in outer space for the New Shepard rocket of Blue Origin.

William Shatner is slated for a fifteen-minute flight in space in October. The specific launch date is expected to be released by Blue Origin soon. This would make William Shatner the oldest man to travel to space at the age of 90.

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William Shatner’s love affair with space

The Canadian star’s journey with space exploration surprisingly began before his portrayal of Captain James Kirk on Star Trek: The Original Series. In 1953, Shatner is credited to have appeared in a Canadian TV series titled Space Command. In the series, he was also accompanied by his Star Trek co-star James Doohan.

In 1966, William Shatner portrayed his iconic role as the captain of USS Enterprise, James T. Kirk. Shatner played the legendary Starfleet captain from 1966 to 1969. Later, in 1973, the Canadian-native returned to reprise the role of Kirk (in voice).

The actor and author also appeared on Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). He also voiced James Kirk on several Star Trek video games over the years.

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Shatner’s connection with NASA

In 2011, the actor recorded a wake-up alarm for the crew of the STS-133 mission to dock with the ISS. The message included Shatner’s iconic introduction from Star Trek. It said:

“Space, the final frontier. These have been the voyages of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before.”

In 2012, William Shatner hosted a video presentation overviewing the Mars rover Curiosity’s mission. Two years later, in 2014, NASA honored the actor with a Distinguished Public Service medal. It is the highest award given by NASA to non-government individuals.

Shatner has also lent his voice to many of NASA's video presentations.

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Expected details of William Shatner’s Blue Origin flight

Previously in July, the reusable suborbital rocket “New Shepard” took approximately 11 minutes from launch to touchdown on the first human flight. However, Shatner’s flight is slated to cover 15 minutes.

Blue Origin auctioned the seats for the July mission’s flight for an estimated $28 million. However, no such information is available for the second human flight.

As per TMZ, William Shatner's flight will reportedly be shot for a documentary, which is still under negotiations with networks for streaming and viewing rights.

Along with Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen went on the first flight. While Daemen (18) became the youngest person to travel to space, Wally, at 82, became the oldest person to travel in space. However, it will be broken by William Shatner upon completion of his flight.