Celebrity Celebrity Deaths Celebrity Death News 'Overwhelmed' William Shatner Tears Up as He Takes First Steps Back on Earth After Space Flight The 90-year-old Star Trek icon — now the oldest person to travel to space — called the historic flight his "most profound experience" in a moving speech By Maria Pasquini Maria Pasquini Maria Pasquini is the staff editor for human interest’s digital vertical at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2017. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 13, 2021 12:58PM EDT William Shatner was overcome with emotion as he returned to Earth following his historic space mission. The Star Trek icon, who at 90 became the oldest person to ever travel to space on Wednesday, was met with applause — and a hug from Jeff Bezos — as he exited Blue Origin's New Shepard capsule following the successful suborbital trip. "In a way, it's indescribable," the Emmy Award-winning actor told the 57-year-old Amazon billionaire, who made his own trip to space back in July."Not only is it different from what you thought, it happens so quickly," he added during Blue Origin's livestream. (L-R) William Shatner, Jeff Bezos. BLUE ORIGIN/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Shatner teared up as he expressed his belief that all humans should experience the wonders of space travel. For more on William Shatner's trip to space and other top stories, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. "Everybody in the world needs to do this," Shatner said. "Everybody in the world needs to see." (L-R) William Shatner, Jeff Bezos. BLUE ORIGIN/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Every Must-See Photo From William Shatner's Trip to Space Putting the impact of his experience into words, Shatner reflected on how quickly the world as we know it can be ripped away — and how precious life is."To see the blue color [of the sky] go rip by and now you're staring into blackness, that's the thing. The covering of blue, this sheet, this blanket, this comforter of blue that we have around us, we think, 'Oh, that's blue sky,' and then suddenly you shoot through it all as if you rip off a sheet while you're asleep, and you're looking into blackness," he recalled."You look down...there is mother Earth, comfort. And [up] there, is there death? I don't know. Is that the way death is? Whoop, and it's gone. Jeez. It was so moving," he continued. "This experience, it's something unbelievable." Brimming with emotion, Shatner thanked Bezos and his aerospace company for giving him "the most profound experience.""I hope I never recover from this. I hope I can maintain what I feel now. I don't want to lose it. It's so, so much larger than me," he continued. "It has to do with the enormity and the quickness and the rudeness of life and death.""What I would love to do is communicate as much as possible the jeopardy, the moment you see the vulnerability of everything. It's so small. This air which is keeping us alive is thinner than your skin. It's a sliver. It's immeasurably small when you think in terms of the universe," he shared. "I am overwhelmed. I had no idea." (L-R) William Shatner, Jeff Bezos. CNET Highlights Lauren Sánchez Wishes Her 'Love' Jeff Bezos Good Luck Ahead of William Shatner's Space Launch As for the launch itself, Shatner admitted that the brief delays that took place Wednesday morning before they took off just before 11 a.m. ET made him feel nervous."I'm a little jittery here," he recalled thinking to himself while waiting for launch."I'm thinking, 'I'm a little nervous here.' Another delay. 'I'm a little more nervous here,' " he remarked.Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. (L-R) Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries. Blue Origin/UPI/Shutterstock Joining the star on the flight were Audrey Powers, Blue Origin's vice president of mission and flight operations, as well as crew members Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. According to Blue Origin's official website, the New Shepard vehicle, which can seat six astronauts, is "fully autonomous," meaning there is no pilot. Billionaire Jared Isaacman Made a Video for His Kids in Case SpaceX Mission Didn't Go as Planned The reusable craft's 11-minute flights are "designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Kármán line — the internationally recognized boundary of space," the company's website says. Addressing recent headlines about the safety of the vehicle, Blue Origin employees pointed out during the launch livestream that prior to Wednesday's launch, the New Shepard vehicle had completed multiple tests without a crew in a years-long process that began in 2015. (L-R) Chris Boshuizen, Audrey Powers, William Shatner and Glen de Vries. Blue Origin William Shatner Jokes He Is 'Terrified' of Going to Space In a nod to Shatner's years playing Captain Kirk, Bezos revealed there were some personal possessions he had asked the actor to take to space with him. "I made these tricorders and communicator to play Star Trek with my friends when I was 9 years old, and my incredible mom saved them for 48 years," Bezos wrote on Instagram ahead of the launch. "She dug them up this past week, and @WilliamShatner has agreed to take them up into space for me tomorrow," he added. "Thank you, Bill!"