Watch Live: William Shatner Gets Emotional After Space Launch, 'I Hope I Never Recover From This'

WATCH: The moment the flight crew is welcomed back on Earth

Video shows the moment Jeff Bezos welcomed William Shatner and the rest of the New Shepard 18 mission crew after they landed back on Earth.

Blue Origin CEO thanks William Shatner for his inspiration

Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith released a statement Wednesday following the successful New Shepard 18 mission.

"At Blue Origin, we are motivated by the dreamers that inspire us and the builder who turn those dreams into reality. Today's crew represented both dreamers and builders," he said.

He specifically called out William Shatner for his role in "describing and imagining the wonders of the universe" and for inspiring "many of us to pursue a career in the space industry."

"This flight was another step forward in flying astronauts safely and often," Smith added. "It's an incredible team and we are just getting started."

New Shepard 18 rocket reached a max velocity of over 2,200 mph

Blue Origin shared "key mission stats" from the New Shepard 18 launch.

The crew capsule reached an apogee of 347,539 feet above ground level with a maximum velocity of 2,235 mph.

The mission lasted 10 minutes and 17 seconds from the official launch to the capsule landing.

WATCH: The moment the New Shepard 18 rockets launches into space

In case you missed the live stream, here is a video of the moment the New Shepard 18 rocket launched into space earlier this morning.

Jeff Bezos pins flight crew, welcoming them into a "very small club"

Jeff Bezos gives each member of the New Shepard 18 flight crew an astronaut wings pin, commemorating their experience in space.

"We have four astronauts before you," he said. "Welcome to a very small club."

William Shatner describes his experience in space

Jeff Bezos pops a bottle of champagne as William Shatner gets emotional talking about his journey.

"Everybody in the world needs to do this. Everybody in the world needs to see," Shatner said.

"It was so moving. This experience did something unbelievable," he said.

"The covering of blue, this comforter of blue we have around us," he said, describing the Earth. "You blast through the blue and then you're into black."

He described the "enormity" of the experience as the "suddenness of life and death," describing the blue earth as "life," the blackness of space as "death" and the speed of the launch felt like the "jeopardy of it all."

Shatner thanked Bezos for giving him this opportunity to go to space.

"What you've given me is the most profound experience," he said. "I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. It's just extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. I don't want to lose it."

Capsule hatch is open as crew steps back on Earth

Jeff Bezos gives the New Shepard 18 crew a thumbs-up after they safely land back to Earth.

The capsule hatch is open and crew members are greeted by their families as they step back on the Texas desert ground.

William Shatner quotes Isaac Newton as he reaches max altitude in space

In a tweet, William Shatner quotes Isaac Newton as he reached maximum altitude in space.

"I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me," Shatner said.

New Shepard capsule has landed

The capsule holding the crew of the second human Blue Origin flight to space has landed in the Texas desert.

Rocket booster returns to Earth, capsule makes its descent

The New Shepard rocket booster has touched back down to Earth.

The capsule holding the crew is on its way down. The parachutes have been deployed as it descends back to Earth.

Rocket on its way back to Earth

The New Shepard 18 is on its descent back to Earth.

New Shepard reaches over 350,000 feet into space

The rocket has hit its peak, reaching about 351,000 feet into space.

New Shepard launches into space

The New Shepard 18 has "passed through the Max-Q," the point of maximum dynamic pressure on the vehicle, according to Blue Origin.

New Shepard 18 has launched

The New Shepard 18 rocket has launched into space.

Legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner will be the oldest person to go to space, at age 90.

New Shepard 18 is "go" for launch

New Shepard is a "Go" for launch.

"The go poll is complete," Blue Origin said.

Blue Origin shares flight profile of New Shepard rocket

Blue Origin shares a graphic of the New Shepard flight profile.

Less than T-10 minutes until launch.

Launch is out of the hold, clock countdown restarts

The launch clock has started again, counting down from T-15 minutes.

Launch on hold, clock reads T-15 minutes

The launch is currently on a hold, according to Blue Origin.

The launch clock still reads T-15 minutes.

N-16 flight crew sends messages to current flight crew

Minutes before the launch, the control center reads messages from crew members of the NS-16 flight that took off in July to the New Shepard N-18 flight.

"The depth of my desire to fly again is hard to express," Jeff Bezos' message read. The message then quotes lyrics from the song "Mr. Spaceman."

"Hey, Mr. Spaceman. Won't you please take me along? I won't do anything wrong. Hey, Mr. Spaceman. Won't you please take me along for a ride?"

Bezos ends his message to the crew, saying "God speed, New Shepard. I can't wait to hear your stories."

Jeff Bezos closes the hatch on Blue Origin rocket

Jeff Bezos has closed the hatch of the New Shepard.

There was some speculation that he was going to join the flight. While Bezos was dressed in the blue flight suit, he will not be on this trip into space.

Finals checks are underway, according to Blue Origin.

Crew boards the rocket

William Shatner has boarded the rocket along with the rest of the flight crew.

The crew is all strapped into their seats, awaiting launch in T-24 minutes.

Flight crew gets ready to enter rocket

The flight crew is walking across the bridge to the Blue Origin Rocket.

As they cross the bridge from the ready shelter, each member rings a bell.

T- timer restarts - 45 minutes to launch

There are currently just under 45 minutes until launch after the Blue Origin team has to stop for 30 minutes to check the rocket.

But all is now okay, the company says, and the astronauts are now ready to make the ride to the rocket.

T-45 minutes

The counter has been placed on hold for almost 30 minutes now, pausing the T- timer at 45 minutes.

There are still at least 45 minutes before launch...

William Shatner's cheeky jab at Elton John

The actor hinted at the singer's hit single Rocket Man, who tweeted asking "has someone informed" him about his trip to space?

Sadly, John has yet to respond...

What does the rocket capsule look like?

Pictures from Blue Origin show a full-size model of the crew capsule where the passengers will sit for their journey.

• In seat one will be Blue Origin's very own Audrey Power, who has overseen all the company's New Shepard (NS) missions - today's being NS-18.
• In seat three will be legendary Star Trek actor William Shatner, invited by Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos to take part in the journey.
• In seat four will be Dr. Chirs Boshuizen, previously a Space Mission Architect at NASA and paying passenger on the flight.
• In seat six will be Glen de Vries, co-founder of clinical trials software company Medidata, who is a paying passenger on the trip.

Approximately one third of the capsule are windows - something never achieved before which will offer passengers a mesmerizing view during their flight.

Is Glen de Vries in space right now?

One of the more bizarre stories of the launch is that of Glen de Vries - a paying passenger on board the rocket and co-founder of Medidata, the Vice Chair of Life Sciences and Healthcare at Dassault Systèmes and a trustee of Carnegie Mellon University.

Fans of his have set up a website to track his journey to space and back - aptly named isglendevriesinspacerightnow.com - with them changing the status to yes just moments ago.

Hollywood friends get excited by Shatner's ascent into space

Men in Black actor Vincent D'Onofrio said he was "just so happy" for his friend - but actress Patricia Arquette had a warning for Jeff Bezos...

Former senior Blue Origin employee compares humanity to 'Ferengi' Star Trek race

Former head of Blue Origin's employee communications, Alexandra Abrams, warned that humanity was "becoming the Ferengi of our own story" as the company prepares to launch Star Trek legend William Shatner into space.

Abrams said the escapade was evidence that humans were becoming like the Ferengi—a fictional alien species that first appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation and are defined by large ears, bumpy heads, and insatiable greed.

Last month, Abrams penned an essay that she said was written in conjunction with 20 other former and current Blue Origin employees, accusing the company of fostering a "toxic" work environment.

FULL STORY: Ex-Blue Origin Communications Head 'Worried We're Becoming Ferengi of Our Own Story'

'So very happy for you': Excited Star Trek fans send Shatner tweets ahead of launch

Shatner to send 'preprogrammed' tweet while in space

The Captain Kirk actor will send a scheduled post to his Twitter fans while on his flight - leaving fans wondering what it might be.

Stay tuned to this blog to find out!

Good morning and welcome to Newsweek's liveblog

William Shatner is preparing for the journey of his life on one of Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rockets this morning.

Follow Newsweek's liveblog throughout Wednesday for all the latest on the launch...