William gets a rocket
Star Trek Shatner: Prince is ‘wrong’ on space race
WILLIAM Shatner yesterday hit back at Prince William for slamming space tourists, saying: “He’s got the wrong idea.”
The 90-year-old Star Trek legend – who this week rode in Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s rocket to become the oldest man in space – insisted reaching for the stars would help our planet.
William had suggested entrepreneurs should focus on saving Earth instead.
Shatner, aka Captain James T Kirk, said: “He’s going to be king of England one day. He’s a lovely, gentle, educated man, but he’s got the wrong idea.
“The idea here is not to go, ‘Yeah, look at me. I’m in space’.
“This is a baby step into getting industry up there, so all those polluting industries – especially industries that make electricity – get off of Earth.”
The actor added he wants to see more firms focused on building energy bases above Earth so they do not harm our ecosystem. The star said the technology is available but it just needs someone like tycoon Bezos or space race rival Elon Musk to say: “Let’s go up there.’’
Shatner added: “You can build a base 250 or 280 miles above the Earth and send that power down here.”
On Wednesday, he joined three others for an 11-minute flight aboard the Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket.
Hitting out at the trip, Prince William said: “We need some of the world’s greatest brains and minds fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live.” Shatner later said he agreed with the royal’s push to fix the planet first.
Saying his experience of flying into space was “‘indescribable”, he added it would be tragic if future generations were denied the chance “to be part of this beautiful thing we call Earth”.
Shatner told CNN: “We have to do something about global warming now, before we all are affected by it.”
The Canadian’s comments about the duke came hours after the Queen was heard saying she found it “irritating” world leaders were refusing to confirm their attendance at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next month.
Sources have said the extraordinary intervention shows the Royal Family are “putting on a united front” in the face of global warming.
Charles urged leaders such as Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is now attending, to get on board as humankind was in the “last chance saloon”.
It’s a baby step to get all those polluting industries off Earth WILLIAM SHATNER DEFENDS HIS SPACE TRIP