Hollywood actor William Shatner will become the oldest person to go to space when he takes a ride in the Blue Origin sub-orbital capsule.

The 90-year-old, who played Captain James T Kirk in the Star Trek films and TV series, says he is looking forward to seeing Earth from a new perspective.

He will blast off from the Texas desert with three other individuals.

His trip aboard the rocket system, developed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, should last about 10 minutes.

Mr Shatner will get to experience a short period of weightlessness as he climbs to a maximum altitude just above 100km (60 miles). He will also be able to see the curvature of the Earth through the capsule's big windows.

"There is this mystique of being in space and that much closer to the stars and being weightless," the Canadian star said.

"I shall be entranced by the view of space. I want to look at that orb and appreciate its beauty and its tenacity."

Blue Origin is targeting a launch for 09:00 local time (15:00 BST).