Brightman heading into space

Sarah Brightman, the singer who once lost her heart to a starship trooper, has booked a trip to the International Space Station.

Brightman will become the first recording artist in space.

The world’s biggest-selling soprano, who had a hit in 1978 with I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper, said that after a tour next year for her new album, Dreamchaser, she will spend six months in Russia’s Star City cosmonaut training centre.

Brightman, a UNESCO ambassador, said the trip would also serve as a way to promote the UN agency’s message, in particular by encouraging women’s education in the sciences and environmental awareness. She hinted at the possibility of doing a promotional “space concert.”

Brightman teamed up with the private company Space Adventures that organises trips for private space explorers.