Bezos’ Blue Origin Adds William Shatner to Space Flight Crew

(Bloomberg) -- Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC is adding some star power to its second human space flight mission by including on its roster William Shatner, best known for his role as James T. Kirk in the “Star Trek” franchise. 

The actor will join two paying customers and a Blue Origin executive on the Oct. 12 flight, the company said Monday. Shatner, 90, will be the oldest person to ever go into space. 

Blue Origin’s debut crewed flight in July carried 82-year-old Wally Funk, a former astronaut trainee who currently holds the title of oldest person to go to space, alongside Bezos and two other passengers.

While the mission demonstrates the potential for a bustling space tourism industry, these early launches are viewed largely as marketing stunts to bring awareness to Blue Origin and its technology. Bezos has compared space tourists to stunt pilots in the early days of aviation, who helped fuel public fascination with planes before they became a common mode of transport.

The other crew members on the upcoming flight include Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of satellite imagery provider Planet Labs Inc., and Glen de Vries, vice chair of life sciences and health care at Dassault Systemes. Blue Origin’s vice president of mission and flight operations, Audrey Powers, will also join the flight.

Blue Origin has not disclosed a cost per seat or how much Boshuizen or de Vries paid.

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