Blue Origin NS-18

Blue Origin NS-18 was a sub-orbital spaceflight mission operated by Blue Origin that launched on 13 October 2021.^[1] The mission was the eighteenth flight of the company's New Shepard integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft. It was the second New Shepard launch to carry passengers. The flight, carrying four people including actor William Shatner, launched from Blue Origin's sub-orbital launch site in West Texas aboard the fourth flight of New Shepard booster NS4 and the spacecraft RSS First Step, both having previously flown on NS-14, NS-15, and NS-16 earlier in the year.

Quick Facts Mission type, Operator ...

Blue Origin NS-18

Mission type	Sub-orbital human spaceflight
Operator	Blue Origin
Mission duration	10 minutes, 17 seconds
Apogee	107 km (66 mi)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	RSS First Step
Manufacturer	Blue Origin
Crew
Crew size	4
Members	Audrey Powers Chris Boshuizen Glen de Vries William Shatner
Start of mission
Launch date	13 October 2021, 9:49 am CDT (14:49 UTC)
Rocket	New Shepard (NS4)
Launch site	Corn Ranch, LS-1
Contractor	Blue Origin
End of mission
Landing date	13 October 2021, 9:59 am CDT (14:59 UTC)
Landing site	Corn Ranch
Blue Origin NS-18 mission patch New Shepard flights ← Blue Origin NS-17 Blue Origin NS-19 →

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At 90, Shatner became the oldest person to fly into space, surpassing the record of 82 which had been held by Wally Funk for three months since her flight on Blue Origin NS-16.^[2][3][4] Per Blue Origin, Shatner was a guest of the company on the flight and did not have to pay for the trip.^[5] When Ed Dwight flew as a space tourist on the Blue Origin suborbital flight on 19 May 2024 at age 90 years, 253 days, he became the oldest person to reach space, overtaking Shatner.^[6]

While in space, Shatner experienced the overview effect and articulated it live on camera in a post-flight conversation with Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.^[7]