Sarah Brightman Expected to Blast Off for International Space Station This October

Reuters reported Thursday that NASA expects The Phantom of the Opera star Sarah Brightman to blast off for a 10-day stay on the International Space Station this October. The trip has been arranged through private American firm Space Adventures, and will cost Brightman $52 million.

Brightman will travel on a Russian Soyuz capsule which was retired by NASA in 2011. She will become the eighth tourist and first professional singer to visit the space station, a $100 billion research laboratory project of 15 nations.

The last tourist with the program was Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte in 2009, and Microsoft co-founder Charles Simonyi has made two trips.

Brightman arrived in Russia this week and will begin a nine-month training program next week. Japanese entrepreneur Satoshi Takamatsu, Brightman's backup if she is unable to make the trip, also arrived at Russia's Star City training center to prepare for spaceflight.

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