Star Trek's George Takei Downplays William Shatner's Historic Space Flight With Blue Origin, Says He Experiences Zero Gravity Longer

Star Trek stars George Takei, and William Shatner have experienced zero gravity, but the former said he was longer than the latter.

George Takei Downplayed William Shatner's Historical Flight

Shatner, 91, made history when he boarded Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in October 2021, making him the oldest person to reach space. Takei, 85, was seemingly not impressed.

In an interview with Mirror, he claimed that Shatner wasn't in space, and the experience wasn't very long. He compared it to his parabolic flight, where he experienced being in zero gravity for a longer time.

According to Takei, he experienced five minutes of weightlessness, while Shatner only experienced it for three minutes. He concluded that he spent more time in zero gravity than his Star Trek co-star.

Several outlets reported that there was a long-standing feud between the two actors. However, Takei immediately clarified that there was no animosity between them. Takei said he was blessed by wonderful and lifelong friends in Star Trek, and they all enjoyed each other's company, except for the prima donna, which he didn't name.

George Takei's Zero Gravity Experience

In 2016, 20 fans were offered the chance to zoom through the skies of Nevada with 15 parabolic arcs of up to 30 seconds in a private version of NASA's Vomit Comet with Captain Hikaru Sulu in Las Vegas. The zero-gravity experience was pretty intense as it included flying up a plane at a 45-degree angle for 20 seconds before topping out, at which point everything began to float, Engadget reported.

The event took place on Aug. 4, 2016, during the Las Vegas' big Star Trek convention to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The deal included a meet-and-greet with Rod Roddenberry and Takei.

It's unclear whether Takei is referring to another parabolic flight or the 2016 zero gravity experience in his recent interview.

William Shatner's Historic Space Flight Revisited

Shatner flew to space on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin in October 2021. After the successful mission, the actor who played Captain James T. Kirk in the popular Star Trek franchise admitted that he couldn't stop crying.

He admitted to CNN Business that it took him hours to comprehend his emotions and why he was in tears. He said he realized he was grieving for the destruction of the Earth.

As he reflected on the environmental crisis, Shatner said things would get worse and even compared the scenario to a person owing money for a mortgage who doesn't have the means to pay it and instead spend his money on dinner.

Shatner was joined by former NASA engineer Chris Boshuizen, healthcare entrepreneur Glen de Vries, and Blue Origin executive Audrey Powers for the three-minute zero-gravity or weightlessness. When they landed back on Earth, Shatner was emotional when he spoke to Bezos. He described the experience as "extraordinary."

Shatner was 90 during the flight, making him the oldest person ever to reach space.

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