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Shatner Aims for Real 'Star Trek'

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the beyond-lance-bass dept.

swight1701 writes "William Shatner wants to boldly go where he's only pretended to go so far. The 'Star Trek' star is among more than 7,000 people who have told Richard Branson they would gladly pay him $210,000 (£115,000) for a trip aboard his planned spacecraft. In all, more than $1.45 billion (£800 million) has been pledged -- years before the Virgin Galactic spaceship is even built, Branson said. I wonder did Shatner sign up because the first ship will be the VSS Enterprise?"

6 of 238 comments (clear)

  1. 1st Passengers of the VSS Enterprise by reporter · · Score: 5, Interesting
    The first passengers of the VSS Enterprise should be all the surviving key actors of "Star Trek: The Original Series". Such an event would be a fitting tribute to the television show that inspired a generation of engineers and astrophysicists.

    Further, such an event would be a great publicity stunt for Virgin, so Virgin should foot the bill for the inaugural voyage of the VSS Enterprise.

  2. Re:I can see it now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    I really enjoy that idea. My twisted sense of humor already responds well the the Enterprise Openning titles: You see, the Enterprise shuttle was actually named in honor of the original Star Trek series. The shuttle was called something else originally but a bunch of Trekies wrote NASA and demanded the name change.


    The implication is that the Archer's Enterprise is named after the Shuttle Enterprise, which was named after Kirk's Enterprise which (presumably) was named after Archer's Enterprise. Niftly little causality loop there.

  3. I don't know about all of you... by xx01dk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    but I think this is pretty cool. Sure, we all make jokes about how corny the Shatner has been and can be, but I think nothing could be cooler than to have a pioneer of modern space sci-fi actually participating in the new generation of space-flight. Gives me chills, personally.

    Although, the comedic value is hard to pass up.

    It's too bad Deforest Kelley won't be around.. "Damnit, Jim! Your an Actor, not an astronaut!"

    --
    There is simply too much glass..
  4. Re:Registration.. by Teancum · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not only are spacecraft like the shuttle registered, but space station modules are also "registered" as spacecraft. Indeed, if an incident were to happen on the ISS, the nation who owns and built the module would have primary juristiction in terms of law enforcement. Indeed, it was because of liability concerns that Dennis Tito was originaly denied entry into the ISS.

    What would be interesting is to see what body of law comes out of dealing with criminal and civil legal issues in space. If you kill somebody while "out there", who gets the privilege of hauling you into court? This is no different than if you kill somebody while on a trans-atlantic flight, and clearly you would be in handcuffs as soon as the plane lands, if not before.

  5. Re:Shatner in outer space? by (SM)+Spacemonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Actually, his new spoken word album is not that bad. In particular the song linked (which you can listen to for free) is very good. It is a cover of a classic britpop song "Common People" by Pulp. Give it a listen. http://www.nme.com/features/110018.htm/

  6. Thank you! by targo · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't care a lot about Shatner as an entertainer but I'm thankful to him and anybody else that is putting dollars into private space industry.
    Getting in space myself one day is my biggest dream; I have been giving a few hundred bucks to X-prize foundation and other similar organizations every year but obviously I could never realize my goal without guys like Shatner chipping in and advancing the cause.
    Thanks again!

    --
    When men used to be men