Star Trek is now half-a-century old: NASA, George Takei and William Shatner celebrate

The Man Trap, the pilot episode for Star Trek aired on 8 September 1966. The show’s cultural impact since then is nothing less than extraordinary. The franchise has had five different television spin-offs and more than a dozen feature films, and a new television series in the works with Bryan Fuller (who is the force behind Hannibal and American Gods) serving as a co-creator and executive producer. Also, it has been confirmed that before Star Trek Beyond debuts on TV, plans are already underway for a fourth film in the reboot series that will somehow bring back Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk. But in the cinematic world and Star Trek franchise, much has changed. There have been different captains, crews and enterprises; with a completely different look and technology. But throughout, Star Trek has remained beloved — and now there’s an official video marking the show’s birthday. Paramount Pictures has released a short video compilation on the official Star Trek film  Facebook page to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the franchise’s birth. The one and a half minute video features the most memorable images and quotes from the Star Trek series, with everything from ‘Live long and prosper_’_ to ‘KHAAAAAAAN_’._ There’s a lot our favourites like Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Uhura in it. Have a look here:

Meanwhile on Twitter, celebrities are celebrating the revolutionary series’ 50th anniversary with the hashtag #StarTrek50 and #LLAP50 (Live Long And Prosper). Star Trek has inspired many, from astronauts to science geeks to space organisations to pursue their passion of space exploration, as made obvious by these tweets: Scott Kelly, the famous American astronaut who is a veteran of four space flights tweeted this:

Thanks @StarTrek for awakening possibilities through imagination for 50 years! #StarTrek50 pic.twitter.com/HdhcZ8UCps

— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) September 8, 2016

Mike Massimino, former NASA astronaut who is now a professor of mechanical engineering at Columbia University tweeted this:

Happy anniversary, @StarTrek! Thank you for inspiring my @NASA peers and fellow astronauts https://t.co/PSxWi71Mo9 #StarTrek50

— Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) September 8, 2016

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Samantha Cristoforetti, one of the very few women in space, who is a part of the Italian European Space Agency astronaut, tweet this,

Honoring #StarTrek50 today. 'cause if we want to build the future, we first need to have the boldness to imagine it! https://t.co/GWkfNgaOjr

— Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) September 8, 2016

NASA seems to be a fan of Star Trek too:

It's written in the stars... or a star forming region. For #StarTrek50, we present the 'Enterprise' Nebulae. pic.twitter.com/Bd4IbVfgep

— NASA (@NASA) September 8, 2016

Nichelle Nichols who played officer Lieutenant Uhura aboard the USS Enterprise in Star Trek television series (1966–1969) tells us to live long and prosper.

Look! @NichelleIsUhura at premiere of #Unbelievable!!!!! It's a sci-fi adventure parody. No release date. #startrek pic.twitter.com/brIt752w3t

— George Pennacchio (@abc7george) September 8, 2016

William Shatner also sent his regards. If you don’t know who Shatner played on Star Trek, then you are not a fan:

HB2U! #StarTrek50 My best, Bill pic.twitter.com/YACJennEo6

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) September 8, 2016

George Takei who played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the television series Star Trek, tweeted this:

I'm on the Colbert show tonight. Here's a little teaser... #StarTrek50https://t.co/6up6pGT2pL

— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) September 9, 2016

Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black female astronaut and NASA pioneer also had a small part in Star Trek and is a huge fan of the series. She tweeted this:

Star Trek- long lived and prospering! #StarTrek50

— Dr. Mae Jemison (@maejemison) September 8, 2016

Einstein, who passed away in 1955, almost a decade before the series premiered, was clearly a visionary in more than one ways because he tweeted this:

Live long and prosper, @StarTrek. Congrats on 50 years! #StarTrek50 #LLAP50 pic.twitter.com/R5TMlaHuSs

— Albert Einstein (@AlbertEinstein) September 8, 2016

And the most ardent fan of them all, Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, has not said anything yet, but we can maybe expect an episode dedicated to it with all the Star Trek references it has? Till then: [caption id=“attachment_2997274” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sheldon loves Star Trek.
Image Courtesy: Tumblr.[/caption]