Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity (Picture: Virgin Galactic)

Octogenarian Jon Goodwin will become the first Olympian in space when he flies on board Virgin Galactic’s next mission on August 10.

Mr Goodwin, a canoeist who competed at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, is also the second person with Parkinson’s to travel to space, having been diagnosed with the disease in 2014. 

However, he won’t be the oldest person to venture into space – that title belongs to Star Trek actor William Shatner, who made the journey aged 90.