Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry, who in addition to being a prolific screenwriter, was a decorated B-17 pilot during World War II and later flew for Pan Am. He died in October 1991 at the age of 70.

• READ MORE: Original ‘Star Trek’ Model Found

The wooden model was built in the mid 1960s by Hollywood scale-model-maker Richard  Datin Jr., a subcontractor for the Howard Anderson Company. The model is 3 feet long and was used in the show’s pilot episode, as well as the opening credits. It later became the prototype for the 11-foot-long model used during production and is now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

The model of Enterprise (NCC-1701)—no bloody A, B, C, or D—belonged to Roddenberry. It sat on his desk for years after the show ended its first run. In 1978, he allegedly loaned it to a production company for the filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and never saw it again.

The whereabouts of the model were often talked about in fan magazines and at Star Trek conventions.

• READ MORE: From the Starfighter to the ‘Enterprise NCC-1701-D’

In fall 2023, the model with its faded paint and drooping engine nacelles reappeared on eBay, with a starting bid of $1,000. According to multiple online news outlets, it was allegedly found in a storage unit in California. 

When it was learned that the model might have been stolen from Roddenberry or at the very least not properly returned, the auction was quickly taken down. The seller then reached out to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, Gene’s son, about returning the item to the family, and the blogosphere erupted in intense debates over the authenticity of the item that rivaled who is the better captain: Kirk or Picard? 

In an interview with the Associated Press, Heritage Auctions executive vice president Joe Maddalena said it was contacted by people who said they had discovered it in a storage unit. When it was brought into the auction house’s office in  Beverly Hills, California, Maddalena and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.” 

Heritage returned the model to Rod Roddenberry, who said he would like to see the model restored then put on display so that more fans can see it.

The post ‘Starship Enterprise’ Model Found on eBay Authenticated as Original appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The 3-foot-long wooden model of Starship Enterprise 1701 (no bloody A, B, C, or D), belonging to series creator Gene Roddenberry, has been located after allegedly disappearing in 1978 when Roddenberry loaned it to a production company for the filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

According to the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry–who played nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, Lwaxana Troi, and the voice of the computer in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager—the model was “historical and quite priceless,” and either Gene forgot to get it back or it was not returned after the production of the first movie.

The model reappeared last week on eBay, with a starting bid of $1,000. According to multiple online news outlets, it was allegedly found in a storage unit, but when it was learned that the model might have been stolen from Gene Roddenberry or at the very least not properly returned, the auction was taken down. The seller then reached out to Rod Roddenberry, Gene’s son, about returning the item to the family.

About the Model

The model was built by Hollywood scale-model maker Richard C. Datin Jr., a subcontractor for the Howard Anderson Company. The wooden model made its first appearance in the original TV pilot episode “The Cage” filmed in 1965. The footage from that episode was later retooled into a two-part episode, “The Menagerie.” The model was also used for publicity shots when the show was picked up by NBC in 1966, as well as being utilized for production shots since computer-generated imaging (CGI) was still decades away.

• READ MORE: The Aviation Roots of ‘Star Trek’

In addition to the 3-foot-long Enterprise, Datin is credited for also making the ship’s shuttlebay, a Class F shuttlecraft, and Deep Space Station K-7, featured in the fan-favorite episode “The Trouble with Tribbles”.

Along with creating one of the most successful science fiction franchises in entertainment history, Gene Roddenberry was a decorated combat pilot during World War II, flying 89 B-17 missions in the Pacific theater. After the war, he briefly worked as a pilot for Pan American World Airways. He died on October 24, 1991, at the age of 70.  

The post Original ‘Star Trek’ Model Found appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

According to Texas-based Celestis Memorial Space Flights, this spring it plans to launch what it believes to be the authenticated DNA of Presidents George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan on the upcoming Enterprise Flight, described as “humanity’s first deep space time capsule.” According to the Celestis blog, the presidential DNA was culled from hair samples.

• READ MORE: Remains of Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols To Launch into Space

“These hair samples, which were originally from the Louis Mushro collection, along with the associated Certificates of Authenticity, were gifted to Celestis by an anonymous donor for the purpose of being included on a deep space mission,” the blog states. “Louis Mushro was a well-known celebrity hair collector and appraiser who built a global reputation as the expert in this field before his passing in 2014.”

Celestis noted that the hair samples had been stored in a climate-controlled facility for several years in preparation for the mission.

Washington, known as the founding father of the nation, was the first president of the United States.

Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Reagan were instrumental in the development of the American space program.

Eisenhower, who held office from 1953 until 1961, was the driving force behind the creation of NASA.

John F. Kennedy, whose presidency was cut short by assassination, famously announced during a speech in 1962 at Rice University that by the end of the decade, America would land an astronaut on the moon.

Ronald Reagan, president from 1981 until 1989, held office during the development of the American Space Shuttle program. In 1986 Reagan postponed a scheduled presidential address to comfort the nation in the wake of the Challenger Disaster and created the Rogers Commission to investigate the accident.

Also on board the flight, the DNA of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry, who starred in the pilot episode of the original series as Number 1, then went on to play Nurse Chapel, then Luxwana Troi in The Next Generation and Deep Space 9 as well as providing her voice for the computer interface from 1966 until 2009. 

The DNA of their son Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry is also aboard; as is the DNA of Nichelle Nichols who starred as Lt. Uhura the communications officer aboard the starship Enterprise, then after the series ended, became a spokesperson for NASA to help them recruit more women; the DNA of her son Kyle Johnson; and the DNA of actor DeForest Kelley who played Dr. McCoy, aka Bones, the chief surgeon of the starship Enterprise; and James Doohan, who played Mr. Scott aka Scotty, the chief engineer. In addition, DNA of former astronaut Dr. Philip Chapman makes a second trip into space, having previously flown on Celestis Aurora Flight.

According to Celestis, the Enterprise Flight window is May 4th to 8th. The Vulcan rocket will travel beyond the moon and establish a solar orbit some 150 to 300 million miles in deep space.

The post DNA of Four Presidents, Cast of Star Trek Headed Into Space appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

To Dorn, morphing into Worf each day was a lengthy process because of the amount of makeup and prosthetics required to bring the character to life. But when the cameras stopped rolling, it wasn’t the starship Enterprise that drew Dorn’s attention, it was a Cessna 172 Skyhawk. But there was a problem.

You see, Michael Dorn likes airplanes that go fast. Really fast. After moving through a few general aviation airplanes, he began buying and flying a long list of former U.S. military fighter jets. This desire to go fast also explains why he drives a Tesla Model X P100D today. “It has ‘Ludicrous’ mode,” Dorn says. “I live for on-ramps!”

In an interview with FLYING, Dorn discusses his love of fast airplanes and describes how he developed Worf into such a popular Star Trek character

FLYING Magazine (FM): You’ve owned a Cessna 172, 310, and 340A, and a Citation 501SP, plus a SOCATA Trinidad TB-20, and a Beechcraft Baron 55. What have you owned that satisfies your need for speed?

Michael Dorn (MD): I have been lucky to have owned a number of military jets, including the Casa Saeta HA200, Lockheed T-33, North American F-86C, and North American Sabreliner 40A. But the one jet I have always wanted is the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. The 104 will be my final airplane, because it really goes fast.

FM: Since the military cannot sell their used airplanes directly to the public, how are civilians able to buy these decommissioned military jets?

MD: In the old days, the publications that list used airplanes had a section for fighter jets. You always saw quite a few T-33s, F-86s, MiG-21s, and L-39s. Now, the operations that do dissimilar aerial training with the military need fast airplanes for U.S. pilots to train against, so they fly great stuff. When they are done with these jets, civilians can pick them up to be flown as experimental exhibition airplanes.

FM: Tell me about the exhilaration that you feel flying your fighter jets.

MD: I’ve always wanted to be a fighter pilot since I was very young because I love aerobatics and speed. The jet airplanes I fly can do Mach 1 or Mach 2 and that kind of speed is exhilarating. If you are low to the ground or going through clouds, you get that sensation of speed. But if you’re just blasting through a bright blue sky, it does not feel fast until you look down at your air speed indicator and you see 0.96 Mach and realize that OK, now that’s fast!

FM: Do you use flying as an escape from your work as an actor?

MD: Yes, all the time. When I was working on the show, I was flying at the same time on the weekends because it was a total release. I equate it to meditation because you’re not thinking about anything else but keeping the airplane in the sky. And with a bubble canopy, you have a different perspective looking down on really beautiful country. I get a little ethereal and find myself asking what is the problem here, what are we fighting about?

FM: How was the character of Worf developed? Did you have any input on what we saw on screen?

MD: The cast had already been working together when they decided to add the character of Worf. I went in to read for the part and was in makeup within the hour. They gave me no guidance on what the character is or what they wanted him to be. I asked the show’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, what his vision for Worf was, and he told me to just make the character my own. To an actor, that’s like Christmas.

FM: What influenced how you developed the character?

MD: The rest of the cast were all just really nice people on and off screen, laughing a lot, happy to be going into space together. It struck me to make Worf the opposite of that because he was a professional soldier, didn’t joke around, didn’t smile, and was kind of gruff and surly. Luckily, the writers took off on that and wrote some fantastic stuff with that in mind.

FM: What is the one attribute a young person needs if they want to break into acting as a career?

MD: They need to have thick skin and be resilient because it’s a tough business. When I started, there were only three television networks, that was it. Now there is so much out there with all the cable and streaming work that if someone knows their craft, the chances of working and making a living as an actor are pretty good. To rise to the top and become a star, you have to be very good at your craft. Even if you are not a star, you can still be a character actor and work all the time.

FM: A lot has been said about Worf’s makeup on the show. What was it like putting all that on and taking it off at the end of shooting each day?

MD: When we started, it was three hours to do the makeup and glue on the prosthetics. By the end of my run as Worf, it was down to one hour and 45 minutes. It was very challenging because they are literally putting glue on your face, and you have to wear it for as long as 15 hours. When I was made up as Worf, I couldn’t go and have lunch in the commissary, because when I would come back, they would have to reglue. That part of the role made my skin crawl.

FM: Once you were made up as Worf, did you stay in character on the set?

MD: No, I am not one of those actors who needs to be in character to do the job. They would say, “action,” and I’d do my lines as Worf; and when they said, “cut,” I would just say, “thanks,” and go about my business. People onset would see me as Worf and assumed I, too, was gruff and surly because I had the makeup for that. But that was not at all the case. I am nothing like Worf in that regard.

FM: Now that Capt. Kirk has gone to space, is that a ride you want to take?

MD: No, because it is dangerous, even if they’re not going into orbit. It’s one of those things where you’re not in control. They put you into a rocket and just shoot you up. For the money they want to go up, I’d much rather use that to buy an F-104.

Quick 6

Name one person you’d like to fly with, living or dead.

Bob Hoover

If you could fly any airplane or helicopter, what would that be?

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

What one airport would you most want to fly into someday?

The airport in Lukla, Nepal [VNLK]. Yikes!

What has been aviation’s biggest innovation?

There are two: the jet engine, and advancements in technology including GPS.

Would Worf have made a good fighter pilot?

He would’ve been an incredible fighter pilot because, like real fighter pilots, he did not have any fear.

When you’re not flying, what would you rather be doing?

Playing tennis. Wherever I lived, I made sure there was a court within 2 or 3 miles.

The post From the Starfighter to the <i>Enterprise NCC-1701-D</i> appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Shatner, then 90, was aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket. After the return to earth, an emotional Shatner struggled to put feelings into words. Now he has done so. In his recently released book, Boldy Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, Shatner explains how the view of the earth from the edge of space made the actor realize how fragile the planet is.

According to an excerpt in Variety, Shatner described the sensation as grief when he compared the “vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below,” noting the view filled him with overwhelming sadness.

• READ MORE: Beam Me Up, Scotty! William Shatner’s Heading to Space

“Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna . . . things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind.” Shatner wrote. “It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.”

After the flight Shatner learned there was a name for what he was feeling.

It is called the “Overview Effect,” and is not uncommon among astronauts, including Yuri Gagarin, Michael Collins, Sally Ride, Eileen Collins, and many others. 

Essentially, when someone travels to space and views Earth from orbit, a sense of the planet’s fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner. 

• READ MORE: FAA Awards Astronaut Wings to Jeff Bezos and William Shatner

“There are no borders or boundaries on our planet except those that we create in our minds or through human behaviors,” said author Frank White, who first coined the term in 1987. “All the ideas and concepts that divide us when we are on the surface begin to fade from orbit and the moon. The result is a shift in worldview, and in identity.”

In his book, Shatner details the training that he and his crew mates Glen de Vries, Blue Origin vice president, former NASA International Space Station flight controller Audrey Powers, and former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen underwent to prepare for the flight. He details his feelings of trepidation going into the flight—after learning about the safe room some 11 stories in the air that was to be used in case the rocket exploded, for example, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Hindenburg disaster—and describes the physical sensations of increased G-forces and then weightlessness on his body.

Science Fiction Connects to Science Fact

In the 1960s Canadian-born Shatner rose to fame playing James T. Kirk, the Captain of the starship Enterprise. What started as a relatively low-budget science fiction action-adventure show has evolved into a cultural phenomenon, spawning multiple additional series and several feature-length movies.

• READ MORE: William Shatner’s Trip to Space to Be Featured in Documentary

The link between the science fiction of Star Trek and actual space travel goes back to 1976 when several members of the Star Trek cast were invited to Palmdale, California to see the roll out of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. The orbiter was a proof of concept design, and was originally intended to be named Constitution but for a massive letter writing campaign asking for the name change.

Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is a big fan of the Star Trek franchise, and he has several models used in the production of the programs on display at Blue Origin headquarters in Kent, Washington.

In 1986, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, which had been lost 10 months earlier in an explosion 73 seconds after lift off.

The plot of Star Trek IV involves an alien communication’s probe that is inadvertently ionizing earth’s oceans as it attempts to make contact with humpback whales—a species extinct in the 24th century. Spoiler alert: The crew of the Enterprise travels back through time to rescue a breeding pair of humpback whales being held in captivity with the intent of bringing them to the 24th century to communicate with the probe to get it to leave, and to reestablish the species. The movie carried a prominent environmental message and Shatner recorded several public service announcements for radio, for environmental groups to encourage people to take better care of planet earth.

Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, co-authored by Josh Brandon, was published by Atria Books and released on October 4.

The post Shatner Left Saddened by Space Travel appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Houston, Texas-based Celestis Memorial Spaceflights announced Thursday it will be sending a “symbolic portion” of the actress’s cremated remains to space aboard a rocket, along with those of other Star Trek cast members.

Nichols, remembered by millions for her role as Lt. Nyota Uhura, the communications officer aboard starship USS Enterprise, died this past July 30, at age 89. She is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson.

The rocket carrying Nichols’ ashes will also contain DNA from Kyle, allowing mother and son to symbolically “fly together on a forever mission known as Enterprise Flight,” Celestis Memorial Spaceflights spokesperson Pazia Schonfeld told FLYING.

• READ MORE: The Aviation Roots of Star Trek

A Rocket Named Vulcan

The Enterprise Flight will be operated in conjunction with United Launch Alliance, according to Celestis. The rocket, dubbed Vulcan, is expected to travel between 150 million to 300 million kilometers into deep space.  

The launch will include more than 200 flight capsules containing cremated remains, messages of greetings, and DNA samples from clients worldwide on an endless journey in interplanetary space, Celestis said in a release. First, Vulcan will be tasked with putting Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander on a trajectory for its rendezvous with the moon. Next, the “Centaur rocket’s upper stage will continue into deep space, entering an orbit around the sun, becoming humanity’s furthermost reaching outpost, which will then be renamed the Enterprise Station,” the company news release said.

“The capsules that carry the cremated remains are made from aircraft-grade aluminum. They are round and range from 1/4 inch to 1 inch,” Colby Youngblood, president of Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, told FLYING on Friday. “The clients who wish to send cremains are sent a flight kit that allows them to send a few grams of the ashes. For DNA submissions we work with a company out of Canada that takes a cheek swab that turns it into powder.”

According to a Celestis website, memorial spaceflight experiences run from $2,495 for Earth Rise, which consists of a launch to space and return to Earth, to $12,500, for either launch to deep space or to the moon.

• READ MORE: Shatner Goes to Space for Real  

Star Trek Cast Flies Free

However, Youngblood, a science fiction fan, noted, “If you are a member of the original ‘Star Trek’ cast, the flight is gratis,” saying the Enterprise Memorial Flight is the result of a promise Charles M. Chafer, co-founder and CEO of Celestis made to the widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry—the late Majel Roddenberry—in 1997 during the company’s inaugural flight.

“Gene Roddenberry’s cremains were on board, and Majel was there during the launch. She turned to Charlie and says, ‘Promise me that when it is my time you will fly me with Gene into deep space.’ Charlie promised he would.” Youngblood said.

Majel Roddenberry appeared in several roles in the Star Trek franchise, first as the character No. 1—the first officer aboard the Enterprise in the pilot episode—then later as Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, followed by Lxwana Troi in Star Trek the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. She also provided the voice for the computer aboard the starships. 

Youngblood notes that the DNA of son Rod Roddenberry will also be aboard, as will the cremains of actor James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek franchise. “Scotty,” as he was known, had keen problem-solving abilities and was the only crew member in a red shirt to routinely survive away missions.

• READ MORE: Shatner’s Space Flight Turned into a Documentary

A Pleasant Surprise

Johnson said he had heard of Celestis and the memorial space flights, and was pleasantly surprised when the company reached out to him a few days after his mother passed with the offer of a gratis flight.

“It was very uplifting for me personally, as her passing was rather sudden, and one cannot prepare for these things,” he said. “They offered this marvelous invitation to join this flight with Gene and Majel and Jimmy Doohan and Douglas Trumball who did the special effects for the 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, he explained. “It was a wonderful, generous offer that couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Johnson, who was a teenager when his mother landed the role on Star Trek, noted that, at the time, it was an acting job, and that no one had any idea the television series would become the cultural influence that it did. 

“It wasn’t larger than life then,” he explains. “There was ‘Star Trek’ the original series and then afterward came the ‘Star Trek’ phenomenon.”

Johnson recalls that Roddenberry, who in the early 1960s was an up-and-coming television producer and writer, had worked with his mother on The Lieutenant, a television show which ran on NBC from 1963-1964.

“He created the role of Uhura on ‘Star Trek’ with her in mind,” he said. “My mother shared some of what she experienced on ‘Star Trek’ with me. She said Gene was able to get creative control of the series and the network later came to regret it because of the way Gene chose to utilize that control.”

For example, Roddenberry wanted his fictional creation of Star Fleet to represent cultural diversity—the inclusion of a Black communications officer as a main character was part of that. At the time, most Black actors were relegated to background roles in television programs, often playing servants. 

Over the years, Nichols told numerous interviewers that she was unaware, at first, of the impact her role was having on society. She described how she had become dissatisfied after the first season, saying some of the mail she received at the studio was hostile and racist. She wanted to resign, but a discussion with civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King at an NAACP fundraiser changed her mind. King, who described himself as her biggest fan, persuaded Nichols to remain with the show by pointing out how the role she played was non-traditional, non-stereotypical, and ground-breaking, changing the societal perception of the roles of Black people.

The Kiss

“Plato’s Children” is still regarded as a ground-breaking and controversial Star Trek episode because of a scene where series star Capt. James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, is forced to kiss Lt. Uhura for the amusement of the Platonians, a sadistic race with telekinetic powers. The characters physically try to avoid the kiss, then are forced into a clinch. The episode aired in 1968 and NBC was worried the episode would generate a hostile backlash. 

“It did cause a stir,” Johnson remembers.

Nichols told interviewers she got a lot of fan mail about that particular episode from girls who wanted to know what it was like to kiss Capt. Kirk.

Johnson noted that when the series went off the air and into syndication, there was some downtime between jobs and that led Nichols to look for alternative revenue streams.

“When you become an actor you have to commit to some lean times between jobs,” he said. “That’s when she started her company with some fellow actresses and colleagues. She didn’t have a name for it yet and we were discussing it, brainstorming for a name. Mom came to me and I popped out ‘Women in Motion’ and she said, ‘Yes! That’s it!’ and she jumped into the deep end with both feet.”

Nichols Recruits for NASA

In 1976, America developed the space shuttle, the first reusable spacecraft. When NASA looked for names for the proof-of-concept ship, a massive letter-writing campaign persuaded the space agency to name the shuttle Enterprise after the fictional starship. Nichols and several other members of the cast and Roddenberry were invited as special guests to see the debut of the shuttle in 1976. Nichols, through Women in Motion, would go on to help NASA recruit diverse candidates—namely women and minorities for the shuttle program. 

“Nichelle Nichols was a trailblazing actress, advocate, and dear friend to NASA. At a time when Black women were seldom seen on screen, Nichelle’s portrayal as Nyota Uhura on ‘Star Trek’ held a mirror up to America that strengthened civil rights. Nichelle’s advocacy transcended television and transformed NASA,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “After Apollo 11, Nichelle made it her mission to inspire women and people of color to join this agency, change the face of STEM, and explore the cosmos. Nichelle’s mission is NASA’s mission. Today, as we work to send the first woman and first person of color to the moon under Artemis, NASA is guided by the legacy of Nichelle Nichols.”

Fans Encouraged To Send Tributes

Fans of Nichols are encouraged to participate in Enterprise Flight, said Youngblood.

“They can go to Enterprise-flight.com and leave a tribute message to Nichelle, and we will fly your message into space. We wanted fans to be able to participate in this. We know what she meant to everyone so we think that’s important.”

“We are truly honored to add a legendary actress, activist, and educator to the Enterprise Flight manifest,” said Chafer. “Now our Enterprise Flight will have on board the person who most completely embodied the vision of ‘Star Trek’ as a diverse, inclusive, and exploring universe.”

The Enterprise Memorial Flight is slated to launch in December. 

The post Remains of <i>Star Trek’s</i> Nichelle Nichols To Launch into Space appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The actual flight lasted 10 minutes, 17 seconds. The video runs 46:16 and begins years before the flight, with how Shatner came to be one of four astronauts aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard, named for astronaut Alan Shepard. 

The documentary includes video clips from Shatner’s early career in black-and-white science fiction television anthologies combined with scenes from his time as Captain Kirk on Star Trek and highlights his astronaut training.

In the new film, Amazon founder and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos, 58, says he was inspired by Captain Kirk so much that he invited Shatner to visit Blue Origin headquarters in Kent, Washington, in 2019. 

Bezos escorts Shatner on the tour, explaining how they are building New Shepard, a reusable space tourism vehicle, with the idea of enabling persons to travel to space. It’s fun to watch Bezos, a self-described Trek fan, share his story with Shatner, who realizes that a great many of the people who are working at Blue Origin were, in some fashion, inspired by Captain Kirk. During the tour, Bezos asks Shatner if he would like to be one of the space tourists and Shatner says, “Yes.”

The video takes viewers through Shatner’s decision to take up Bezos’ offer to travel to space. There’s an awkward scene where he tells his family about his decision. The rest of the video documents the preparation of the astronauts on the mission. 

The purpose of these space tourism flights, says Bezos, is to show people how fragile the Earth is, and perhaps, once that is realized, people will work to protect the environment.

“I think it’s essential,” he says. “That’s what needs to happen. That’s what Blue Origin is working on, that will change everything. You have to be stubborn on the vision and flexible on the details. That’s how you build a road to space.”

Shatner, clad in the blue-and-black Blue Origin astronaut flight suit and wearing two pilot watches on his left wrist, appears to be enjoying the astronaut classes.

The New Shepard is an autonomous vehicle—the astronauts/tourists do not have to do anything, no button pushing, lever flipping, no flying—they are strapped into astronaut couches for launch and recovery. Approximately 20 seconds after launch, New Shepard released from the rocket, and there was a period of weightlessness as it continued its climb to approximately 300,000 feet, to the so-called Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. The astronauts float around for a bit then are given a one-minute warning when it is time to strap back in for the return to earth. The capsule lands with the help of drag chutes on the desert floor in Texas.

Shatner was joined on his flight by Audrey Powers, a Blue Origin vice president who oversees New Shepard operations, and two paying customers—Chris Boshuizen, a co-founder of the Earth-observation company Planet Labs, and Glen de Vries, a co-founder of a company that builds software. 

There are interviews with each of the other participants. Powers, Boshuizen, and de Vries describe how traveling to space has been a desire since childhood. Powers also talks about her career at NASA and Boshuizen shows a Lego spaceman from his childhood he intends to carry with him on the trip. Watching de Vries talk is bittersweet, as he died about a month after the flight in a small airplane crash.

There is a poignant moment when Bezos asks Shatner to carry a paper tricorder and communicator Bezos made as a child with him into space.

The video follows the Blue Origin astronauts through their few days of training from their ground school to a tour of the New Shepard capsule where they are assigned seats. Shatner pointedly remarks that he is trying not to have any expectations about the flight as he doesn’t really know what to expect.

The combination of the video, the music, and the expressions of joy on the faces of the launch team, the crowd in attendance and the astronauts during the launch sequence will give you chills.

Shatner, upon landing is emotional and visibly moved, and thanks Bezos for giving the life-changing opportunity, saying the view of the Earth showed its fragility and he drives home the point that it must be protected and healed from pollution.

Bezos, in the after-flight commentary sums it up. 

“Bill Shatner is not Captain Kirk. Captain Kirk is this amazing fictional character that inspired  millions of people. It turns out that Captain Kirk is an incredible character. Bill Shatner is an incredible man. He became one of my heroes all over again, but this time as the real man.”

The post William Shatner’s Space Trip Now the Subject of a Documentary appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

1. Fast Food Delivery from Uber Eats

Everyone gets highly specific cravings, no matter the altitude. One Japanese entrepreneur, Yusaku Maezawa, recently rode aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station, where he delivered “boiled mackerel in miso, beef bowl cooked in sweet sauce, simmered chicken with bamboo shoots, and braised pork.”

The food was hand-delivered, complete with the branded Uber Eats paper bag.

The slow delivery was made on December 11, after Maezawa’s nearly nine-hour trip to the ISS. This is only the beginning for Maezawa’s space career, as the billionaire is among the first customers to reserve his trip around the moon as part of SpaceX’s “dearMoon” mission in 2023.

2. The First Pizza Delivery to Low-Earth Orbit

Unfortunately for Uber Eats, the delivery service was not the first to complete orbital orders. That title belongs to Pizza Hut, which paid the Russian space program $1 million to send a personal pizza to cosmonaut Yuri Usachov onboard the ISS in 2001.

“Pizza Hut is known for quality, innovation and category leadership,” said then-Pizza Hut chief marketing officer Randy Gier. “Having recorded numerous ‘firsts’ on Earth, we also wanted to make history by becoming the first company in the world to deliver pizza to space. From this day forward, Pizza Hut pizza will go down in history as the world’s first pizza to be delivered to and eaten in space.”

The company used salami in place of pepperoni, since it lasted longer without growing mold in their 60-day testing process. Sadly, the NASA astronauts weren’t allowed to partake in the pie, given the administration’s policy against endorsements and product advertisements.

3. Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber

Jumping from food to fiction, NASA once sent Mark Hamill’s prop lightsaber from “Return of the Jedi” to space during its STS-120 mission in 2007, commemorating the Star Wars franchise’s 30th anniversary.

Before leaving Earth, the lightsaber was ceremoniously escorted by Chewbacca and several X-wing pilots to its flight from California, landing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The prop spent two week in orbit before being returned to George Lucas’ film company.

“There’s a kind of a fine line between science fiction and reality as far as what we do, and it’s only just time really because a lot of what we’re doing right now was science fiction when I was growing up,” said NASA astronaut Jim Reilly. “I think it’s a neat link because it combines two space themes all at one time.”

4. Cremains of Scotty from Star Trek

From one galactic franchise to another: James Doohan—who played Star Trek engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott—wished for his ashes to be sent to space.

After his passing in 2005, Doohan’s family made multiple attempts to fulfill the actor’s wishes. Two of those attempts were nearly successful, but Doohan’s son recently revealed that a portion of the ashes were actually snuck onto the ISS, where it’s been for the past 13 years.

Doohan’s son had enlisted the help of game designer Richard Garriott, who was among the first civilians aboard the ISS in 2008. Garriott agreed to take the ashes with him on board a Russian Soyuz rocket but didn’t have enough time to have the item properly checked and run by the Russian space agency. 

So, Garriott took it upon himself to smuggle the ashes with him, and they remain hidden on the ISS to this day.

5. An Entire Car

In 2018, Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its Falcon Heavy rocket for its maiden voyage—with a peculiar passenger on board.

The payload included a Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car made by Musk’s car company, with a mannequin dubbed “Starman” in the driver’s seat. The February launch made history for the private space company, where a feed from Starman’s perspective could be livestreamed from space.

In the vacuum of space, Starman “listened” to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and “Life on Mars?” on repeat.

In spectacular fashion, the core stage booster from the rocket splashed down at nearly 300 mph in the Atlantic Ocean, where it was supposed to land on a remotely-piloted drone ship. The other first-stage boosters made their safe landings at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Did we miss any unusual space artifacts? Let us know at @flyingmagazine on Twitter.

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Star Trek’s William Shatner will join Blue Origin’s manned space launch next week.

On Monday, the company announced Shatner and Audrey Powers, vice president of the New Shepard mission and flight operations at Blue Origin, as its remaining two crew members for its NS-18 launch. The two will be joining Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries for the October 12 flight.

The 90-year-old actor will become the oldest person to go to space, taking the title from 82-year-old Wally Funk, who set the record on Blue Origin’s previous flight in July of this year.

“I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” Shatner, best known for his role as Captain Kirk in the “Star Trek” franchise, said in a statement Monday.

Powers has worked as an engineer and a lawyer and she has prior experience in the space industry through her tenure as a flight controller for NASA. She also serves as the chair of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

“I’m so proud and humbled to fly on behalf of Team Blue, and I’m excited to continue writing Blue’s human spaceflight history,” Powers said in a statement. “I was part of the amazing effort we assembled for New Shepard’s Human Flight Certification Review, a years-long initiative completed in July 2021. As an engineer and lawyer with more than two decades of experience in the aerospace industry, I have great confidence in our New Shepard team and the vehicle we’ve developed.”

NS-18′s liftoff is scheduled for 9:30 am EDT. Live coverage will begin at T-90 minutes, broadcasting from Launch Site One in west Texas.

The post Beam Me Up, Scotty! William Shatner’s Heading to Space appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has announced two of four crew members for its next manned launch set for October 12.

New Shepard’s 18th mission, NS-18, will be carrying former NASA engineer and Planet Labs Co-Founder Dr. Chris Boshuizen and Vice Chair of Life Sciences & Healthcare, Glen de Vries, alongside two unannounced crew members.

The crew will launch from Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:30 a.m. ET; coverage will begin an hour prior to lift-off on Blue Origin’s website.

The company said in a release Monday that the other two crew members will be announced this week.

TMZ has reported that legendary “Star Trek” actor William Shatner might be among them. If true, the 90-year-old actor would be the oldest person to visit space.

Who’s Chris Boshuizen?

Boshuizen served as Planet Labs’ CTO for five years, overseeing the first commercialized nanosatellites. The company has launched more than 450 satellites that provide daily global mappings of the changing planet.

“This is a fulfillment of my greatest childhood dream,” Boshuizen said in a statement Monday. “More importantly, though, I see this flight as an opportunity to inspire students to pursue careers in STEM and catalyze the next generation of space explorers.

“After all, our future of life in space is in their very capable hands.”

Who’s Glen de Vries?

Co-founder of Medidata Solutions, de Vries is a pioneer in the medical systems industry. His company, Medidata, was acquired by Life Sciences and Healthcare at Dassault Systèmes where he now serves as vice chair.

“I’ve spent my entire career working to extend people’s lives. However, with limited materials and energy on Earth, extending our reach into space can help humanity continue to thrive,” he said in a statement Monday.

“Furthermore, astronauts can experience the ‘overview effect,’ gaining a new perspective on how fragile and precious our planet, those resources, and our civilization are. Playing a part in advancing the space industry and one day making those resources and that understanding available to everyone, is an incredible opportunity. I’ve been passionate about aviation and space for as long as I can remember, so this flight is truly a dream come true.”

This launch follows Blue Origin’s previous success in July, in which Jeff and Mark Bezos joined the crew for their first human flight. The mission also included famed pilot Wally Funk.

The post Who Will Be Aboard the Upcoming Blue Origin Flight? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.