Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Eskom targets 32GW green energy shift by 2040

      16 July 2025

      MTN Group appoints new chief enterprise officer

      16 July 2025

      Kruger Park’s white rhinos get a hi-tech lifeline

      16 July 2025

      South Africa loosens media ownership rules – but keeps one hand on the remote

      16 July 2025

      The real cost of a cashless economy

      16 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Motoring » Star Trek’s William Shatner is going to space

    Star Trek’s William Shatner is going to space

    By Agency Staff4 October 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    William Shatner. Image: Gage Skidmore

    Billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space company said on Monday that Star Trek actor William Shatner will fly on the company’s New Shepard launch vehicle to the edge of space as part of a four-person crew that is set to launch next week.

    “I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” Shatner, 90, said in a written statement released by Blue Origin ahead of the suborbital NS-18 flight scheduled for 12 October.

    Bezos in July soared about 107km above the Texas desert aboard a New Shepard launch vehicle and returned safely to Earth.

    I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself

    Blue Origin said pioneering woman aviator Wally Funk, 82, who was on the July flight, was the oldest person to reach space. Shatner is set to break that record.

    Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000. New Shepard hurtled at speeds reaching 3 595km/hour, exceeding the “Karman line” — 100km — set by an international aeronautics body to define the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.

    Shatner first played the role of Captain James T Kirk in 1966 for the Star Trek television series, the show that many Nasa astronauts credited with igniting their love of space. He also played the role in seven feature films.

    Safety concerns

    On Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said it would review safety concerns raised by a former Blue Origin employee who was joined by 20 other unidentified Blue Origin employees and former employees, who wrote that they had “seen a pattern of decision making that often prioritises execution speed and cost reduction over the appropriate resourcing to ensure quality.”

    Blue Origin said it provides “numerous avenues for employees, including a 24/7 anonymous hotline, and will promptly investigate any new claims of misconduct. We stand by our safety record and believe that New Shepard is the safest space vehicle ever designed or built.”  — Reported by David Shepardson, (c) 2021 Reuters



    Blue Origin Jeff Bezos William Shatner
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleWhistle-blower says Facebook put profit before reining in hate speech
    Next Article Development Partners lines up R17.2-billion for Africa-wide tech investments

    Related Posts

    The satellite broadband operators taking on Starlink

    9 July 2025

    Bezos vs Musk: Project Kuiper begins deployment to rival Starlink

    29 April 2025

    This is Europe’s shot to emerge from Silicon Valley’s shadow

    10 April 2025
    Company News

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.