I’m glad everything went smoothly. I was a bit concerned The Shat would hit the fan. 
We are seeing a new era in space research. Space tourism might be the next big thing. It’ll take awhile to get the costs affordable.
That was Buzz, and I don’t think it was a fan.
Yes! DS9 is my favorite Star Trek series. Getting Sisko to his station would be really cool 
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The Mercury astronauts were truly doing something no one had done before. They were contributing to research just by having their bodies wired up and seeing how they’d react to an alien environment, both mentally and physically. While they could control the motions of their spacecraft, they were not encouraged to do so because of the limited fuel supply. They also had to follow a very strict regimen laid out in advance
The armed forces actually issue Astronaut wings to their personnel who qualify. I wonder if any of the crew on these commercial flights are wired up at all. Do they still need to record biometric data at this stage of the game?
I would recommend reading The Right Stuff to anyone interested in the Mercury program. There was a lot of stuff going on inside the astronaut community that was never made public in the early '60s.
Jerry Pournelle used to tell stories about his stint heading up the Human Factors Laboratory and the things they had the astronauts and pilots do and some of the things they’d requisition in trying to design the perfect space helmet. (5 human spines. Recently deceased. No abnormalities. No salvage value.) Shatner did it in his shirtsleeves. How far we have come.
I get that Jeff Bezos isn’t a very popular figure but it is a bit sad to me that some people are using that as a cudgel to knock this trip. The usual stuff about billionaires using space as a new play thing while there is horrible suffering here on Earth. I get it.
I also get having a 90 year old go to space because he played an iconic sci-fi character a long time ago is a gimmick but it’s a cool gimmick. Bezos, Elon Musk, Richard Branson and anyone else who has the money will keep this venture going so if they’re going to do it then at least be happy that on this occasion it is a space tourist who has some inspiring qualities like Shatner did for a generation of a space enthusiasts.
I just watched the playback and listened to Bill after he came back. He talked to Jeff Bezos for awhile and honestly, it was probably the most moved I’ve ever been watching Shatner in anything. It was really powerful.
I hope that my kids or grandkids can maybe even take trips like this one day. It really must have been amazing to see how quickly we go from earth---->space.
I loved it.
If I was a Star Trek actor, I’d be queuing up as well.
Several folks complained that Bezos did the champagne spray before Shatner was done talking (I agree fairly well)
Brian
The whole thing was awkward enough that I kind of loved it. Bezos left him standing there and came back. I think he did a good job listening once he finished that champagne thing.
Who is the younger lady that came up and hugged Shatner during the celebration? Bezos current girlfriend? Shatners? I have no idea who that is.
Is this her? If so, it’s Bezos’s girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez.
I agree it is cool that a Starship Captain went into space.
Shatner gets around really well for 90. Bezos took a risk that payed off.
Goin’ up in the penis in the sky,
That’s all I got.
It would be really neat (at least in my opinion) to do it in chronological order, which means that Patrick Stewart should be next.
Did Shatner pay to go or did they send him for promotion?
One thing that impressed me was that Shatner (and the others) had to demonstrate the ability to run quickly down all of those stairs in case of emergency.
They comped his flight.
Shatner left the Earth in a giant penis, but as promised re-entered the atmosphere with just the tip.
The woman he left his wife for and God, I hope this is just a very unflattering picture.
I thought he was going to hug Bezos and cling on to him for a bit.
I actually looked, and no, that face wasn’t pasted from a botched plastic surgery site. That’s pretty much her.