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Washington (AFP)
When Star Trek first aired in 1966, America was still three years away from putting people on the moon, and the idea that people could one day live and work in space seemed like a fantasy.
On October 12, William Shatner – Captain James T. Kirk at Trekkies – is set to become the first iconic cast member of the series to travel to the Last Frontier, as a guest aboard a Blue suborbital rocket. Origin.
For fans, the 10-minute jump from a West Texas base to Earth will be an appropriate coda for a pop culture phenomenon that has inspired generations of astronauts.
“I intend to stare out the window with my nose pressed against the window, the only thing I don’t want to see is a little gremlin looking at me,” said the 90-year-old Canadian, who will become the oldest person to ever be in space, joked in a video.
Blue Origin’s decision to invite one of the galaxy’s most recognizable sci-fi characters on its second crewed flight has helped keep the buzz around the burgeoning space tourism industry alive, as the novelty begins to emerge. fade away.
This summer, flamboyant British entrepreneur Richard Branson flew just beyond the atmosphere in a Virgin Galactic spacecraft on July 9, defeating Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by days in their battle against billionaire space barons. .
Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent four private astronauts into orbit around Earth for three days as part of the Inspiration4 mission in September, which raised more than $ 200 million for charity.
“Bringing in a celebrity like William Shatner who is linked to space brings a kind of renewed novelty and creates media and cultural attention,” University of Carolina public relations expert Joe Czabovsky told AFP. north to Chapel Hill.
– Pioneering show –
The original Star Trek was canceled after just three seasons, but went on to spawn over a dozen films and several spinoff series, some of which are in the works.
Shatner, as the courageous and decisive Kirk, commanded the USS Enterprise on a five-year mission “to explore strange new worlds, in search of new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man never went before “.
Their actual space trip will be much shorter, taking the crew just beyond the Karman Line, 100 kilometers above sea level, where they will experience four minutes of weightlessness and observe the curvature of the planet.
He will be joined by Audrey Powers, vice president of mission and flight operations at Blue Origin, Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of Planet Labs, and Glen de Vries, co-founder of the clinical research platform Medidata Solutions.
Star Trek drew American attention to the stars as the U.S. space program was about to land a man on the moon near the end of its run in 1969.
It broke new ground by tackling complicated moral issues and stood out for its diverse cast at a time when the country was struggling through the era of civil rights.
The Enterprise’s crew included an Asian American helmsman, a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer, and an ensign of Russian origin.
Shatner made history in 1968 when he kissed black co-star Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Nyota Uhura, in the first interracial kiss on American television.
– Influential –
The show is also closely linked to the US space program.
In 1976, the first space shuttle was named “Enterprise” following a fan-letter campaign that influenced then-President Gerald Ford.
NASA hired Nichols in the 1970s to help recruit new astronauts, and many other cast members voiced official documentaries or lectured for the agency.
The astronauts returned the favor, posing in Star Trek uniforms for mission-related posters and embracing the show’s motifs.
“For 50 years, Star Trek has inspired generations of scientists, engineers and even astronauts,” said NASA astronaut Victor Glover in a 2016 video that drew parallels between research on the Enterprise and the scientific instruments of the ISS today.
Another mega-fan: Bezos himself.
Amazon’s Alexa was reportedly inspired by the Star Trek conversational computer, and Bezos – wearing thick makeup with an egg-shaped head – appeared in an appearance in the 2016 movie “Star Trek Beyond.”
Shatner’s power and star spirit – he joked to CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the New Shepard rocket, which has been mocked for its phallic appearance, was actually “to inseminate the space program” – could provide a welcome distraction for Blue Origin.
The company is under a cloud of allegations, made by a former senior employee, about a “toxic” work culture with rampant sexual harassment and decision-making that prioritizes speed over safety.
Blue Origin denied the allegations and said the employee was fired two years ago for problems with U.S. export control regulations.
© 2021 AFP
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