It’s been about a year since William Shatner went to space, becoming one of the first people to take advantage of the new space tourism industry and actually went where very few people have gone before. The place was the right one for the actor of 91 years, best known for his roles in “The Big Bang Theory.” Star Trekto find him. But, unlike Star TrekWhile many thought space travel was romantic, Shatner didn’t think so.
William Shatner previously only spoke about the speed of space travel. Here’s an excerpt from the book. “Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, published in Variety, the actor talks about his experience on board Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin shuttle, and it seems that his trip was less full of wonder and more full of sadness. He found the void of space to be just that, an empty void. He says that space lacked the wonder and awe he expected, and he describes it as “death.” Shatner says…
I was struck by a deep, black, cold emptiness. It was unlike anything you could feel or see on Earth. It was all-encompassing, deep and enveloping. I turned toward the light of home. I could see Earth’s curvature, the desert beige, the white clouds, and the blue sky. It was life. Nurturing, sustaining, life. Mother Earth. Gaia. And I was leaving Gaia.
It’s almost heartbreaking. Although Shatner was excited to go to space, he also admitted to feeling nervous before the trip. There are many. Star TrekFans were thrilled to see Captain Kirk finally take to the skies, although not everyone found William Shatner a suitable choice. The Star TrekEvidently, vet had a certain expectation about how the trip would turn out, that it would be an amazing, joyful experience. However, it was not.
That’s not to say that everything about the trip was bad. Shatner explained that while he initially found space to be dead and cold, he viewed the world in a completely different light when he looked back. He sees the earth differently now than he ever could before. He continues…
I had thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things—that being up there would be the next beautiful step to understanding the harmony of the universe. The film “Contact,” when Jodie Foster’s character goes to space and looks out into the heavens, she lets out an astonished whisper, “They should’ve sent a poet.” I had a different experience, because I discovered that the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us. It made me feel more connected to this tiny planet when I left that behind.
This phenomenon, also known as the Theatrical Space Travel, is apparently well-known. Overview. This feeling is also reported by astronauts. It causes them to see the Earth in a completely different way. It sounds like William Shatner’s trip to space had a profound impact on him. He might not have experienced the same impact he had hoped.