Emotional William Shatner reflects on spaceflight: ‘the most profound experience’

VAN HORN, Texas (NBC) – Blasting off from west Texas at speeds over 2,000 miles an hour, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has made history yet again.

Wednesday’s space flight sent one of Hollywood’s biggest stars soaring among them. William Shatner, also known as Star Trek’s Captain Kirk was visibly overwhelmed by the view from nearly 350,000 feet above the earth. His more than three minutes of weightlessness were heavy with meaning.

At 90-years-old, Shatner is now the oldest person ever to go to space. His fellow crew members were Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers and customers Glen de Vries and Chris Boshuizen—both who reportedly paid a quarter-million dollars for a seat.

For Shatner, the ten-minute and 17 second trip to space and back is some 55 years in the making. But this flight turned science fiction into reality.

But not everyone is thrilled with the new billionaire space race. Overnight Britain’s Prince William said it distracts from the fight against climate change. He said, “We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.”

Back on the ground, the space captain who’s seen it all was still in awe. Shatner told Bezos, “What you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine.”

Shatner’s journey was quick but momentous as he looks to cling on to the ride of his lifetime, saying, “I hope I never recover from this, I hope I can maintain what I feel now, I don’t want to lose it.”

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