William Shatner is heading back into space but this time it won’t be aboard the USS Enterprise. 

“Yes, it’s true; I’m going to be a ‘rocket man’,” the 90-year-old tweeted. “It’s never too late to experience new things.”

The Jewish Star Trek actor, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the original 1966 series and seven films, will be blasted into space from Texas on October 12. 

The 11-minute mission aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-18  will make Mr Shatner the oldest person to have flown to space. 

He will be joined by three others as the travel firm owned by US tech guru Jeff Bezos sends its second crewed flight into space. 

“I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle,” Mr Shatner said.

The crewed flight will travel three times faster than the speed of sound and reach past the Karman Line, the boundary between outer space and the Earth's atmosphere.