Soon after announcing that he intended to go up on a Blue Origin tourist space shot, William Shatner announced that he will be going up on a flight on October 12, just 5 days from this writing. I have to admit that I was a bit shocked that the decision was made, at least seemingly, very quickly. Mr. Shatner is over 90 years old, and although he is not ill, its obvious that he is not a fit man (and even less fit for space). This started to make a bit more sense when I had head that Shatner (for a while now) has sponsored a project to encourage people to accept new challenges involving technology. So, I guess he’s following his own advice! Regardless of the critiques, I wish him luck, and I think it is super cool that “Captain Kirk” is finally going into space just above the surface of the Earth after spending so long imagining much more distant treks. I’ll be keeping my eyes on the launch!

If you’d like to read more about such issues in science fiction, read The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction, by Steve Bloom (me) and available from Amazon, B&N, and the publisher, McFarland. Its is available in electronic and paperback.