Captain Kirk bottles free space trip

'Not my idea of a good time', admits Shatner

William Shatner has turned down a free trip into space because it's "not my idea of a good time", as the actor explained to UK tabloid The Sun.

Richard Branson offered the 75-year-old a £114,000 ticket for Virgin Galactic’s first passenger flight in 2008. Shatner, however, declared: "I'm interested in man's march into the unknown but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time. Neither is a fiery crash with the vomit hovering over me. I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back."

Kirk will not, then, be joining Ripley on the "VSS Enterprise" when it finally blasts off from Virgin Galactic’s New Mexico spaceport. Sigourney Weaver booked her flight back in 2004, prompting a spokesperson to comment: "We’d be delighted to take Sigourney back to visit the Aliens." ®