William Shatner sits in the Enterprise captain’s chair at the ‘Star Trek The Tour’ in Long Beach, California, US, in this file photograph.
“I’m going to see the vastness of space and the extraordinary miracle of our Earth and how fragile it is compared to the forces at work in the universe,” Shatner told NBC’sprogramme. “I’m thrilled and anxious — and a little nervous and a little frightened — about this whole new adventure.
The New Shepard vehicle carried the foursome 107km above Earth, giving its passengers a few minutes of weightlessness, before the crew capsule parachuted safely back to the floor of the Texas desert. On that flight, pioneering female aviator Wally Funk at age 82 became the oldest person to reach space.
Blue Origin, founded by Bezos in 2000, promised to investigate any claims of misconduct and defended its safety record, calling New Shepard “the safest space vehicle ever designed or built”.