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Captain Kirk in space? William Shatner, 90, to join Blue Origin's next flight

'I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,' William Shatner said in a statement

After a very successful maiden voyage, Jeff Bezos' space travel company Blue Origin is ready for its second flight into space, setting off yet another record. Blue Origin's first flight to space saw Wally Funk become the oldest person to have been into space at 82. Now, 'Star Trek's Captain Kirk, actor William Shatner, is all set to join Blue Origin's next fight to space on October 12. He will be the oldest person to have been in space at 90. Joining Shatner on the flight will be Blue Origin’s vice president of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers.

Blue Origin made the announcement on Monday, October 4. "Two incredible and inspirational people will join the #NS18 crew. Actor @WilliamShatner and Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations Audrey Powers @AudreyKPowers," the statement read. Jeff Bezos himself was on the debut flight of Blue Origin in July, along with his brother.

"I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," William Shatner said in a statement.

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Flying with Shatner and Powers, are Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer who founded a nanosatellite company, and Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata, the most-used platform for clinical trials around the world. The flight will take off from Launch Site One on October 12 in West Texas. The 10-minute long up-and-down space hop will reach no higher than about 66 miles (106 kilometers).

'This is great!'

Captain Kirk's fans expressed excitement over the fact that he will be flying into space 'for real' after all this time. One person tweeted, "A morning smile: William Shatner now 90 years old, is 'heading out into space' October 12th on Jeff Bezo's Blue ! I love little surprises like this - Captain Kirk is heading out into space (not on a TV set this time)."

Another wrote, "This is great! William Shatner (90 yrs young), the only Captain Kirk is going to space next week on one of Jeff Bezos' flights!" One tweet read, "The second biggest event of the year on the same day as the biggest event of the year (my Birthday). William Shatner going into space." Another fan wrote, "This sounds exactly like something william shatner would do"