Annabel Nugent wrote the following article in The Independent:

Star Trek actor William Shatner is due to fly to space with aerospace company Blue Origin.

Shatner portrayed Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the beloved sci-fi franchise.

The actor will join Audrey Powers, Blue Origin’s Vice President of Mission and Flight Operations, on board the vessel New Shepard NS-18.

Crewmates Chris Bozsuhizen and Glen de Vries will also be aboard the flight, which lifts off from the Launch Site One in West Texas on 12 October.

At age 90, Shatner will be the oldest person to fly to space.

Speaking to Blue Origin about the forthcoming flight, the actor said: “I’ve heard about space for a long time now. I’m taking the opportunity to see it for myself. What a miracle.”

While the trip was confirmed today (4 October), reports of Shatner’s space expedition emerged last week.

The Canadian actor is currently the host and executive producer of The UnXplained, a non-fiction series on The History Channel that explores the world’s “inexplicable mysteries”.

Live coverage of the launch will begin 90 minutes prior to take-off and will be available to watch on BlueOrigin.com.

Lift-off is currently targeted for 1.30pm UTC / 2.30pm BST.

The flight follows after Blue Origin’s first human flight on 20 July, which saw Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos and aviation pioneer Wally Funk embark on a historic mission to space.

The group was joined by Blue Origin’s first-ever customer, Oliver Daemen.