William Shatner plans to write a song about his trip to space with Blue Origin

James T. Kirk spent a lifetime in space, but in the real universe William Shatner is only going to experience a few minutes of weightlessness to look down upon Earth when he rides a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket over 62 miles up next week. 

The beloved actor says he plans to immortalize the experience using the art form he's perhaps less known for: songwriting.

"I want to write about my love of Earth, having seen it in the milieu of hostile space," Shatner said in the below interview with Blue Origin on Friday. "To see this gem, this warm, loving nourishing planet."

The Canadian actor is best known for his role as captain of the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek universe, but his musical career is almost as long and unique as his acting resume. He's released at least a dozen albums ranging in genre from blues and country to a Christmas album and a Biblical reading released on a Jewish record label. 

Much of Shatner's recorded work is done in a spoken-word style featuring his trademark delivery set against almost any kind of musical backdrop you can imagine, often resulting in some rather bizarre creations. Shatner's musical career has occasionally been the butt of jokes, and Shatner himself hasn't shied away from self-parody. 

Shatner is now 90 years old and his latest album dropped just a few weeks ago, on Sept 24. It's a multi-genre extravaganza simply titled Bill, with guest performances from Joe Jonas, Joe Walsh and Brad Paisley, among others. 

The original space man has naturally been writing and singing songs about space for years -- everyone should hear Space Truckin' from Shatner's album Seeking Major Tom at least once -- but perhaps his musical magnum opus is yet to come.