William Shatner

Past flights included Star Trek celebrity William Shatner, Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and pop superstar Katy Perry. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 8 (UPI) — Space tourism company Blue Origin launched six people in Texas on its 15th mission in the growing orbital tourism industry.

Blue Origin’s mission NS-36, space flight saw liftoff at 8:40 a.m. CDT via its launch site in west Texas after a 9:30 a.m. launch window opened for its suborbital journey in the 36th flight for its reusable rocket-capsule New Shepard.

“Hugs all around,” an announcer said in a live-streamed broadcast as New Shepard landed in the Texas desert.

The six-person crews reached an orbital height of 346,791 feet in the capsule after its rocket detachment reached its apogee of roughly 346,426 feet.

Passengers aboard experienced a weightless environment for a few minutes above Earth’s Karman line, some 62 miles above the planet that scientists recognized as the boundary to outer space.

The flight time hit Blue Origin estimates. The mission’s elapsed time 10 minutes 21 seconds, and the reusable capsule land around 8:50 a.m. CDT.

New Shepard has had 21 uncrewed research flights but with 15 total passengers to date.

Aboard the voyage by the company created by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos were Blue Origin veteran Clint Kelly III, a robotics researcher, who flew on Blue Origin’s August 2022 mission. In addition to an anonymous passenger, joining Kelly were franchise executive Jeff Elgin, media entrepreneur Danna Karagussova, software entrepreneur Aaron Newman and Ukrainian businessman Vitalii Ostrovsky.

But no live interviews were to be taken but videos will be posted later, according to company officials.

However, it’s unclear just how much it costs to book a seat on New Shepard but estimates suggest a minimum $150,000 deposit with its first space ticket that cost nearly $30 million.

In June, Blue Origin lifted six space tourists on its 13th passenger flight.

Past flights included Star Trek celebrity William Shatner, Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and pop superstar Katy Perry.

“Star Trek” legend William Shatner saw recent reports about his health as an opportunity to raise the flag about another matter.

The 94-year-old Hollywood veteran on Thursday urged his social media followers to be mindful of where they get their information, writing “don’t trust tabloids or AI!” He shared the cautionary message as he addressed reports that he was hospitalized Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The actor shared a meme of himself portraying Mark Twain in an episode of the Canadian series “Murdoch Mysteries” to his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts. “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated,” says the text over the photo, referencing a famous and famously misquoted line from the American literary icon.

Shatner also opened up about his health in his caption for the meme: “I over indulged. I thank you all for caring but I’m perfectly fine.”

TMZ reported Wednesday evening that the Emmy-winning actor — who famously originated the role of Capt. Kirk on the TV series that launched the “Star Trek” universe — was hospitalized “after suffering a medical emergency.” Shatner agent Harry Gold confirmed to the outlet that the star “experienced an issue with his blood sugar” while at his Los Angeles home and called emergency services “as a precaution.”

Gold confirmed in a statement shared Thursday that his client is “perfectly healthy,” echoing the “Boston Legal” and “T.J. Hooker” actor’s social media sentiments.

Shatner addressed his health after previously discussing his tinnitus. In a video for nonprofit Tinnitus Quest he said that his struggles with the condition — in which a person experiences ringing or other noises in one or both ears — began during his “Star Trek” days when he was “too close to the special effects explosion,” which left him with permanent tinnitus.

“Over the years, I’ve had many up and downs with my tinnitus, and I know from firsthand experience just how difficult it can get,” he said, later encouraging viewers to donate to the nonprofit.