Why William Shatner Thought 2021 Blue Origin Space Flight ‘Felt Like a Funeral
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Shatner traveled on Jeff Bezos' space shuttle late last year.
Last year, actor William Shatner, at 90 years old, became the oldest living person to travel to space when he took a ride on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space shuttle on Oct. 13, 2021.
Now, he's opening up about the strange emotional journey he went on during the life-changing experience, stating that 'it felt like a funeral.'
Shatner wrote an exclusive article for Variety revealing how it felt going to space.
He went up with former NASA engineer Dr. Chris Boshuizen, the late Glen de Vries, a successful tech entrepreneur who died shortly after the flight, and Blue Origin Vice President Audrey Powers.
The actor, now 91 years old, explained how space "thrilled [him] for years… but when I looked in the opposite direction, into space, there was no mystery, no majestic awe to behold . . . all I saw was death."
Shatner went on, saying, "I had thought that going into space would be the ultimate catharsis of that connection I had been looking for between all living things."
But instead, he said he realized that "the beauty isn’t out there, it’s down here, with all of us. Leaving that behind made my connection to our tiny planet even more profound. It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered."
The Star Trek star touched on climate change and the damage humanity has had on the planet, explaining that "Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna...It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral."
Apparently, he wasn't alone in this feeling, revealing that it even has a name, the "Overview Effect," and astronauts like Sally Ride, Yuri Gagarin, and more also experienced it.
To put it simply, Shatner described the Overview Effect as "a sense of the planet’s fragility [that] takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner" when you view Earth from orbit.
Shatner shared his experience on Blue Origin, eloquently explaining how it can be a lesson for all of us, even if we never have the privilege of viewing Earth from space.
He ended his message with these words: "In this insignificance we share, we have one gift that other species perhaps do not: we are aware—not only of our insignificance, but the grandeur around us that makes us insignificant. That allows us perhaps a chance to rededicate ourselves to our planet, to each other, to life and love all around us. If we seize that chance."
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