I
t takesa rocketmantolauncha
rocketlab– andit takesanother
rocketmantointroducehim.
WhenWilliamShatner,Star
Tre k’s originalCaptainJamesT.
Kirk,openedprivatecompany
RocketLab’snewhigh-volume
productionfacilityin Auckland,
NewZealand,RocketLabchief
executivePeterBecksetthestage.
“There’soneveryspecialguest
heretoday,”Becksaid.“Hesparked
a generationofspaceenthusiasm
andheis anicon.Notjustwiththe
spaceindustry,butglobally.
“I usedtowatchhimwhenI
wasfiveyearsoldbouncingon
myfather’skneein frontofthe
television,andI usedtoadmirehis
explorationoftheuniverse,boldly
goingwherenomanhadgone
before...I canonlyimaginegoing01 Shatner
signsa rocket
atRocketLab.backin time,tappingonthatlittle
boy’sshoulderandwhisperinginto
hisear,‘Oneday,CaptainKirk’s
goingtoopenyourrocketfactory.’”SPACE,BABY!
The12-year-oldRocketLab
launcheditsfirstspacecraftto
orbitin early2018,joiningwhat
Beckcalled“avery,veryeliteclub.
Generally,it’scountriesthatgoto
space,notcompanies.Therehave
beentwoprivatecompaniesin
thehistoryofthisEarththathave
everputa spacecraftin orbit,and
RocketLabis oneofthem.”
Amongthosegatheredto
watchWilliamShatnerunveil
a plaqueandsignanElectron
rocketwereUSAmbassadorto
NewZealandScottBrown,aswell
asNewZealand’sPrimeMinister,JacindaArdern,herpartner,Clarke
Gayford,andtheirfour-month-
olddaughter,Neve.Afterbeing
introduced,Shatnerreferredto
ElonMusk’slaunchofa Tesla
Roadsterintoorbitin February,
2018,beforejokingabout
launchingtheprimeminister’s
babyintospace.
“So,heputsa rocketup”said
theStarTrekstar,“andheputs a
carupthere,a Tesla!Incredible!
“See,nowhere’sa suggestion
thatmightbeuseful,”Shatner
teased.“Theprimeministerhas a
baby.Sowhydon’tweputthebaby
asa payload?Getthebabyupthere!
Protectit and,ofcourse,bringthe
babybackdown.But,thinkhow
muchbetterNewZealand’sspace
programmewouldbe.Insteadof a
car,a newbornbaby!”ROCKET MAN!
Shortly before William Shatner sat down with us to talk Trek movies, he beamed down to
New Zealand to open a brand new rocket lab facility – and Star Trek Magazine was on hand
to witness his typically idiosyncratic suggestion for the facility’s inaugural mission...WORDS AND PHOTOS: CHRIS GARDNER01
REPORT