William Shatner Admits He’s “Terrified” of Going to Space

Following the news that he’ll be aboard one of the Blue Origin rockets from Jeff Bezos’ aeornautics company and will make the trip into spce, Star Trek star and living legend William Shatner admits the truth, he’s terrified. Speaking during his New York Comic Con spotlight panel, Shatner revealed the origin of the first conversation he had about the potential trip but also his many worries and fears about the potential. “I don’t want to be the oldest guy to go into space,” Shatner said. “The phrase they use a lot of is ‘our best guess is that…’ I’m going up in a rocket and our best guess is it should be fine!”  

He added, “I’m terrified. I’m Captain Kirk and I’m terrified. I’m not really terrified-yes I am. It comes and goes like a summer cold. I’m planning on putting my nose against the window (while in space) and my only hope is I won’t see someone else looking back.” Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers will also be one of the guests on board the flight, joining Shatner and crewmates Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. The New Shepard NS-18 will lift off from Launch Site One on October 12.

“My friend Jason Erhlick came to me about a year and a half ago and he said he was seeing these rockets with people going into space. And, wouldn’t it be something if Captain Kirk went up there?” Shatner revealed. “And I said, ‘Jason, for God’s sake, man. Nobody cares if Captain Kirk goes to space. It was 55 years ago, man. But I’m doing well, maybe I should go up to space?”

“I’m so proud and humbled to fly on behalf of Team Blue, and I’m excited to continue writing Blue’s human spaceflight history,” Powers previously said in a statement. “I was part of the amazing effort we assembled for New Shepard’s Human Flight Certification Review, a years-long initiative completed in July 2021. As an engineer and lawyer with more than two decades of experience in the aerospace industry, I have great confidence in our New Shepard team and the vehicle we’ve developed.”

This marks Blue Origin’s second manned flight to space following the July 20 mission which included Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, aviation pioneer Wally Funk, and Blue Origin’s first customer, Oliver Daemen.