Fans At New Star Trek Exhibition Await William Shatner's Flight To Space
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Star Trek fans are eagerly anticipating the moment William Shatner crosses over from TV space traveler to the real deal.
Shatner, who played the iconic James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series, will be launched into space on Tuesday in a rocket built by Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space company. He will join three others aboard a capsule for about 10 minutes, traveling no higher than about 66 miles, and then parachute back to earth.
WATCH THE LAUNCH: CBSN will be streaming the Blue Origin launch on Tuesday, Oct. 12th beginning at 6:30pm
Fans at the new Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center had plenty of praise and support for the 90-year-old actor.
"I think it's just so awesome that he's getting ready at 90 years old to go into space. That is fantastic. I really love that whole thing," said Laura Wilkins from Orlando, Florida.
Pat Dengler from Los Angeles said "I would love to be a fly on that wall because I really want to know who's going to be giving the commands up in space but I think it's fantastic for all of us. It just makes space travel so much more accessible. The thought that I have some time still and there's a good chance I get to go up in space at some point."
The exhibition, which opened on Wednesday, pulls props, costumes and sets from the various series of the show, which originated in 1966 and was the brainchild of Gene Roddenberry.
Show curator, Laura Mart believes that Shatner going to space is symbolic of the long-running franchise's overall message.
"I think really it's bigger than Shatner, right? I mean, Captain Kirk is Star Trek but really Star Trek is the thing that has had the impact on space travel by presenting this optimistic vision of the future, especially an inclusive vision of the future," said Mart. "One of the things that I think made Star Trek so impactful in terms of influencing the course of technology is showing people they had a place in space. So no matter what they looked like or where they came from they too could explore. Even if you didn't necessarily look like Captain Kirk, you could be part of the crew."
Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibition will be on display at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles until February 20, 2022.
