Shatner among Blue Origin final NS-18 crew
October 5, 2021
Blue Origin has announced that actor William Shatner and Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, will fly on board New Shepard NS-18.
Shatner’s career as an actor, director, producer, writer, recording artist, and horseman has spanned 60 years. He famously originated the role of Captain James T. Kirk in 1966 for the television series Star Trek. He is currently the host and executive producer of The UnXplained on The History Channel.
“I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” said Shatner (pictured with Crew Member 7 Sarah Knights).
Powers joined Blue Origin in 2013 and oversees all New Shepard flight operations, vehicle maintenance, and launch, landing, and ground support infrastructure. In collaboration with New Shepard’s Safety & Mission Assurance team, Test & Flight Operations, Chief Engineers, and external partners, Powers played a lead role in the multi-year process to certify New Shepard for human flight. Prior to leading New Shepard’s Mission and Flight Operations team, she served as Deputy General Counsel and Vice President of Legal & Compliance for Blue Origin, overseeing a wide variety of legal, regulatory and policy matters.
“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,” said Powers. “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.”
Lift off is currently targeted for 8:30 am CDT / 13:30 UTC from Launch Site One in West Texas on October 12th
This flight follows Blue Origin’s successful first human flight on July 20th which included Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, aviation pioneer Wally Funk, and Blue Origin’s first customer, Oliver Daemen.