90-year-old William Shatner set to be oldest person ever going into space

The 90-year-old legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner is set to become the oldest man to ever fly into space as part of the second civilian crew to travel with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard capsule.

Shatner, who played James T. Kirk on the classic TV show and subsequent movies, will take off in the New Shepard capsule in October for a 15-minute civilian flight, according to TMZ. The exact date has not been revealed, report Daily Mail.

It's unknown who else will be aboard the mission, and it's unclear how much the Star Trek star had to pay to join the intergalactic crew (the last flight's final seat went for over $20 million at auction).

The Blue Origin flight will be recorded for a documentary that was rejected by Discovery and is now being negotiated by Shatner's team somewhere else. 

Blue Origin launched their first civilian flight in July launching Bezos and three others into space; Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen, and Wally Funk.

Funk, became the oldest person to ever fly to space at 82 years old, a record that Shatner is now set to beat. 

Shatner commented on Bezos' space launch and the recent billionaire space race to begin space tourism.

'I know there is an argument to be made about popularizing space travel, and I've talked to a lot of travelers to space who are excited to get to Mars,' he told NBC.  

The actor mentioned Bezos' mission to Mars but called it 'ridiculous.'

'It takes a year and a half to get there. People will think it's like we're on a trip, on a cruise line. No, man! You're in zero gravity and it's hotter than hell and the air is putrid. 'Help me, I'm dying, but I'm dying slowly!' What a terrible fate.'

He also noted the danger of space travel.

'If you basically have a flat tire in space, it means you die. It seems to me you're more likely to die there than on the Hollywood Freeway.'

But Shatner ended discussing his perspective on morality.

'You know, at my age, you're constantly aware of mortality. Any moment of, 'Oh, I'm a little dizzy. Am I dying?' It's an interesting question.'

While Shatner's body may be flying into space for the first time, his name has already preceded him. NASA's InSight Mars rover was equipped with two microchips embedded with 2.4 million names—one of them Shatner's—before its 2018 launch.