­British singer to become the next space tourist

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Published time: October 10, 2012 15:28
Edited time: October 10, 2012 19:28

Phantom of the Opera star Sarah Brightman is to pay millions of dollars to become the next space tourist. The singer will join professional cosmonauts on a Russian Soyuz mission and visit the international space station in three years time.

The 52 year old singer will reportedly blast off into space in 2015, Aleksey Krasnov, the head of Roscosmos’ piloted programs said at a news conference in Moscow. 

The last space tourist was Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte in 2009. Prior to his visit seven paying customers have made their way to the ISS. Reports say each of them paid at least $20 million for the privilege.

The first space tourist was American millionaire Dennis Tito. He flew into space with a team of astronauts in 2001.

According to Krasnov, the singer who was once married to composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and starred in the original London and New York productions of "The Phantom of the Opera" has already received the approval from the medical commission and can now begin training at Russia’s Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow.

“In July Miss Brightman submitted all the necessary medical and physical parameters [to the medical commission] having proved that she is a suitable candidate ready to undergo a six-month long space-flight training program,” Krasnov said.

Speaking at the news conference Brightman says she plans to release special album chronicling her preparations of the space journey in the coming months. Early in her career Sarah Brightman had a hit with a song called ‘I fell in love with a starship trooper’, her trip into orbit will certainly bring her one step closer.