Star Trek legend William Shatner prepares to boldly go as he suits up for space launch

William Shatner is gearing up for the big launch (Picture: AFP/Mega)

Star Trek actor William Shatner appeared to be channelling his inner Captain Kirk as he suited up for the launch of Blue Origin and his trip into space.

The 90-year-old and his fellow crew members posed in their astronaut suits, as they prepared for Wednesday’s big launch.

He was also pictured being shown the spacecraft, undergoing training, and sharing a message about the epic journey on a postcard as he took part in Blue Origin’s Club for the Future program for aspiring astronauts.

William’s handwritten message read: ‘This is the most important and practical concept for space use and for aiding in saving planet Earth.’

The actor will become the oldest person to ever go into space.

While he’s clearly excited for the big day, he also admitted he’s feeling a ‘fire of terror’ and who can blame him?

He jokingly added at a New York Comic Con panel: ‘I’m terrified. I’m Captain Kirk, and I’m terrified going to space. You know, I’m not really terrified. Yes I am. It comes and goes like a summer cold.’ 

He shared a handwritten message (Picture: Blue Origin/Mega)

The actor posed with his crewmates (Picture: Blue Origin/Mega)

Predicting what it’ll be like in space, the actor said: ‘You have three minutes to look into the abscess of space and the beauty of this oasis of Earth, and I was planning on pressing my nose against the window, you know? 

‘And my only hope was I wouldn’t see somebody else looking back.’ 

Shatner will become the oldest person to travel to space (Picture: Blue Origin)

He’s best known for playing Captain Kirk on Star Trek (Picture: Blue Origin/Mega)

Shatner also revealed that he was persuaded to go into space by his friend and Better Late Than Never producer Jason Ehrlich.

‘So [Jason] came to me about a year and a half ago and he said, you know, they’re starting to send these rockets up with people into space,’ he explained. 

‘So he continued to sell me on the idea and bless his soul. Blue Origin is the idea.’ 

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‘Wouldn’t it be something if Captain Kirk went up there? And I said, “Jason, for God’s sakes, man, nobody cares about Captain Kirk going up into space. You know, it was 55 years ago, by God, man!” 

He follows the likes of Richard Brandon and Jeff Bezos, who both recently completed trips into space.

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