He spent decades pretending to boldly go where no human had gone before and now Star Trek actor William Shatner really is going to blast into space.

Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin has announced the actor, who played Captain Kirk in the sci-fi favourite, will be on board its capsule when it takes off from Earth on October 12.

“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.”

Shatner will become the oldest person to fly to space, following 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, who was a passenger in July.

So now I can say something. Yes, it’s true; I’m going to be a “rocket man!” 😝🤣 https://t.co/B2jFeXrr6L

— William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) October 4, 2021

The 15-minute flight, and the run-up to it, will be filmed for a documentary.

Shatner will fly with three other people aboard the Blue Origin capsule. Among them will be Australian venture capitalist Dr Chris Boshuizen who has paid for a seat as a space tourist.

It’s not clear how much Dr Boshhuizen paid for his seat but prices advertised by Virgin Galactic, for flights next year, start at $A618,000.

The names of the other crew have not been released.