9 Photos: William Shatner In Space As Himself, Not 'Captain Kirk'

VAN HORN, TX — From 66.5 miles high in the sky, the 90-year-old actor who played Captain Kirk in "Star Trek" was able to look out over the Texas desert. Ten minutes later, William Shatner and the rest of the crew in the fully automated capsule constructed by Jeff Bezo's space tourism company, Blue Origin, safely parachuted back down to the ground.

"What you have given me is a profound experience" Shatner told Bezos after exiting the capsule. "I hope I can maintain what I feel now."

See below for photos of the launch and landing of the historic flight, making Shatner the oldest person ever to have traveled to space.

This undated photo made available by Blue Origin in October, shows, from left, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries. They were aboard Blue Origin’s second passenger flight using the same capsule and rocket that Jeff Bezos used for his own trip three months earlier.

Albert Fehrenbach (left) takes a photo as his wife, Susan Fehrenbach (center) chats with Rick Pratt outside the entrance to the Blue Origin launch site near Van Horn, Texas, Monday.

Gene Walker, of Denison, Texas, takes a photo of a Blue Origin mural on a building for sale in Van Horn Tuesday. The launch had been pushed to Wednesday due to weather.

In this 1988 file photo, William Shatner, who portrayed Capt. James T. Kirk, attended a photo opportunity for the film "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." Kirk rocketed into space this month — boldly going where no other sci-fi actors have gone.

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket sits on the landing pad after carrying passengers Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk, from its spaceport near Van Horn on July 20. In Blue Origin's second launch Wednesday, the performer who breathed life into "Star Trek's" Captain James T. Kirk, at age 90, headed toward the stars under dramatically different circumstances than his fictional counterpart.

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket launches carrying passengers William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries from its spaceport near Van Horn Wednesday.

Parachutes slow the descent of the Blue Origin capsule with passengers William Shatner, Chris Boshuizen, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries near the company's spaceport near Van Horn Wednesday. Blue Origin has said it has one more passenger flight to space planned for 2021, as well as more in 2022.

A pedestrian crosses the street in Van Horn Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.