Or not.
For the past few years, I've heard off and on conflicting reports over whether or not William Shatner will be traveling into space on a Virgin Galactic launch. Richard Branson, innovator behind the Virgin Galactic commercial space program, had offered Shatner a free ride on the company's SpaceShipTwo-class vehicle called...of course...Enterprise. So it would seem only fitting that "The Supreme Shat" be onboard for it.
Not so, sayeth The Shat. Reports have volleyed back and forth for a while, but I finally took a notion to go looking for the truth and found this denial from Shatner himself in 2006. As he says, "I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back." That sounds fairly definitive to me.
I can't say that I blame The Shat, but it is rather a pity. The presence of one such as he on a commercial spaceflight might possibly generate more enthusiasm for space travel. For years, both he and Star Trek have been synonymous with the future and forward thinking. If we could connect that conception, that mode of thinking once more to spaceflight, it might just accelerate popular support behind the endeavor.
It's a disappointment, that's for certain and with the Packers having just won a world championship, I...oh forget it. But as I said, I can understand why he might not want to do it.
After all, Bill's heavy metal album is about to be released. Go Shat!Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets
On Facebook, ChicagoVince said: "Scott Backula [sic] will go up because technically, he was the first Enterprise Captain."
ReplyDeleteScottL said: "There are some other people I think should go into space...but I'm not going to indulge here..."
@ScottL I nominate Stan Romanek.
KathrynM said: "Isn't he already out there? lol"