Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket will lift off from Texas on Wednesday morning, bringing Star Trek actor William Shatner and three others into space.
This will be the second launch Blue Origin, a company created by Jeff Bezos will undertake and the weather is expected to be in the rocket's favor. The original launch was scheduled for Tuesday but was delayed one day due to forecasted winds.
Blue Origin's launch from Houston will be live-streamed on YouTube on PBS News Hour's channel and the launch is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time, which is 10 a.m. ET. It can also be streamed on Space.com and Blue Origin's YouTube channel. Blue Origin encouraged those interested in the launch to follow its Twitter page for updates on the launch.
Ahead of the rocket's launch, the four astronauts made postcards to carry with them into space, with Blue Origin declaring they'll "boldly go where no mail carrier has gone before."
Shatner wrote on his notecard that, "this is the most important and practical concept for space use and for aiding in saving planet earth." The three other astronauts–Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's Vice President of Mission & Flight Operations, Chris Boshuzien and Glen de Vries–drew pictures on theirs.
"I've heard about space for a long time now. I'm taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle," Shatner said in a statement to Blue Origin.
Shatner rose to fame as Captain James Kirk on the television series Star Trek and played the role again for seven of the films in the franchise. At 90 years old, he will become the oldest person launched into space.
Founded by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is a private company offering citizens the opportunity to venture into space, but it comes at a cost. One seat was auctioned off at $28 million and polls indicate most people see the voyages as "ego trips" for those with opulence.
Blue Origin's first flight in July broke multiple Guinness World Records, including launching the oldest person into space, breaking the record set by NASA astronaut John Glenn who was 77 when he went to space in 1998. The flight set four new records in total, including launching the first siblings into space at the same time, the youngest person, and the first suborbital spacecraft to carry paying customers. Among those on board were Wally Funk, Oliver Daemen, Jeff and his brother, Mark Bezos.
After launching on Wednesday, the Blue Origin rocket will spend a few minutes in space and then return to Earth by way of a parachute-assisted landing.
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