[ti:Star Trek’s William Shatner Becomes Oldest Man to Fly in Space] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Ninety-year-old actor William Shatner, [00:03.48]flew into space Wednesday. [00:06.68]The performer is known for playing Captain Kirk [00:10.56]in the Star Trek television series and films. [00:14.80]He is the oldest person to ever reach space. [00:20.84]Shatner was a passenger on a spaceship built by Blue Origin, [00:25.92]the company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. [00:32.16]The Star Trek actor and three other passengers [00:36.32]flew about 106 kilometers over the desert of western Texas [00:41.64]to the edge of space. [00:44.32]The ship operates without a pilot. [00:47.72]It spent about three minutes at zero gravity [00:51.96]then safely returned to Earth by parachute. [00:56.36]The flight lasted just over 10 minutes. [01:01.16]"How about that, guys? [01:03.92]That was unlike anything they described," [01:06.68]the actor said as the ship came back to Earth. [01:11.64]Shatner broke the record [01:13.48]for the oldest person in space by eight years. [01:17.88]Pilot Wally Funk set the earlier record in July, [01:22.48]also on a Blue Origin rocket. [01:27.08]Science fiction fans [01:29.00]enjoyed the chance to see the man best known [01:32.60]as Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise. [01:38.96]"This is a pinch-me moment for all of us [01:42.20]to see Captain James Tiberius Kirk go to space," [01:47.16]said Blue Origin launch commentator Jacki Cortese before liftoff. [01:55.16]She said she, like many others, became interested [01:59.84]in the space business because of shows like Star Trek. [02:05.96]Bezos is also a Star Trek fan. [02:09.52]He once played an outer space creature [02:12.72]in one of the later Star Trek movies. [02:16.72]Shatner flew on the ship for free as his invited guest. [02:23.60]The launch brings attention to Bezos' space travel company. [02:29.80]Bezos himself drove the four passengers to the launch area. [02:35.80]He closed the ship's door [02:38.00]after they climbed into the 18-meter rocket. [02:42.24]And he was there to welcome the crew after the ship returned. [02:48.52]"Hello, astronauts. Welcome to Earth!" [02:51.64]Bezos said as he opened the door and was hugged by Shatner. [02:58.28]The space tourism industry is quickly growing. [03:02.04]Many passengers without government spaceflight training [03:06.28]have been able to fly into space recently. [03:11.88]Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson [03:14.68]went into space in his own rocket in July, [03:18.12]followed by Bezos nine days later [03:21.28]on Blue Origin's first flight with a crew. [03:26.08]Elon Musk's company SpaceX [03:29.24]made its first private flight last month, [03:32.68]but without Musk as a passenger. [03:36.72]Last week, Russia launched an actor and a film director [03:41.40]to the International Space Station to film a movie. [03:47.84]Also on the flight was Audrey Powers, [03:51.24]Blue Origin vice president. [03:54.40]There were two other passengers who paid: [03:57.28]Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer, [04:01.40]and software businessman Glen de Vries. [04:05.76]Blue Origin would not release the cost of their flights. [04:12.20]After the flight, Shatner told Bezos [04:16.04]that he gave him "the most profound experience I can imagine." [04:22.32]Through tears, the actor said, "I'm so filled [04:26.08]with emotion about what just happened. It's extraordinary. [04:32.04]I hope I never recover from this. [04:35.36]I hope that I can maintain what I feel now. [04:39.56]I don't want to lose it." [04:43.20]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM