“Hey Jeff Bezos, sign me up for space tourism!”: Celtics legend Bill Russell congratulates Bill Shatner after nonagenarian embarks on Blue Origin orbit with Amazon founder

Akash Murty | 14/10/2021
"Hey Jeff Bezos, sign me up for space tourism!": Celtics legend Bill Russell congratulates Bill Shatner after nonagenarian embarks on Blue Origin orbit with Amazon founder

Bill Russell, one of the greatest basketball players ever desires to take a space trip just like his friend Jeff Bezos.

It looks like being the major force in winning 11-NBA Banners didn’t take Bill Russell’s name as high as he wanted. The Boston Celtics legend’s ambitions of flying high are not limited to the skies, he wants to go beyond.

The 11-time All-Star recently shared his desire to go the space like William Shatner. The Canadian movie star who was recently sent to the space by Jeff Bezos.

Also read: Bill Russell’s mother Katie Russell made his father promise he’d send Bill to college! Celtics legend narrates the moving story of how he was given the middle name Felton after.

There are 4 people on this crew including the “Star Trek” star Shatner. Blue Origin VP of mission and flight operations – Audrey Powers, is on board. Planet Labs co-founder Chris Boshuizen and Medidata co-founder Glen de Vries are co-passengers on this mission.

Bill Russell urged Jeff Bezos to consider him for the next space trip

Earlier this year, Blue Origin founder Bezos flew on the company’s first crewed spaceflight in July. This mission marked his company’s entrance into the sector of suborbital tourism. This is a segment where it competes with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in the original “Star Trek” television series, is now the oldest person to fly into space, at 90.

William Bill Russell described himself being a huge Star Trek fan. He says his counterpart William Shatner is a hero for really going into space and making his fellow Bills more proud. Russell at 87, also wishes to be considered to go to the space.

Bezos said that Blue Origin has sold nearly $100 million worth of tickets to future passengers, the company has not disclosed the price of each seat.

Also read: Boston Celtics really got Bill Russell in exchange for the Ice Capades? How Red Auerbach orchestrated the most lopsided deal in league history to help win 11 rings and more.

If Bezos does consider Celtics Legend’s candidature, he’d be the tallest guy to ever go to the space if not the oldest.

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
Bill Russell boston celtics Jeff Bezos

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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