William Shatner Still Has No Idea What “Slowing Down” Means

Also in the running for most amazing thing: On Oct. 13, 2021, Shatner became, at 90, the oldest living person to go into space.

As for the assumption that rocket travel would be awfully loud, he quipped that the sound aboard Jeff Bezos‘ Blue Origin shuttle wasn’t as grating as the piercing squawk of a macaw he once shot a commercial with.

However, in his 2022 book Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, Shatner poignantly recalled having “the strongest feelings of grief” he’d ever encountered while gazing at Earth from on high.

“It filled me with dread,” he wrote. “My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.”

Shatner later found out that his was a common reaction experienced by numerous astronauts (the “Overview Effect,” it’s called). But in the moment, he explained to E!, “Space looked black and ominous, and Earth looked like, ‘Wow, that’s where I want to be!'” He chuckled at the memory. “I don’t want to be on Mars, I don’t want to be on the moon. I just want to go home.”

And, obviously, back to work.