Singer Sarah Brightman at a press conference on October 10 announcing her flight to the space station in 2015
The Russian space agency Roscosmos and Space Adventures are renewing space tourism flights to the International Space Station. The next space tourist will be the singer Sarah Brightman who will fly to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
Brightman, 52, announced her flight at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday and said she hoped her flight, planned for 2015, would spur the hopes and dreams of people around the world.
"I don't think of myself as a dreamer. But as a dream chaser," said Brightman. "I hope that I can encourage others to be inspired by my journey and pursue their dreams and help fulfill the important mandate of UNESCO to promote peace and sustainable development on Earth and in space. I am determined that the journey can be a force for good, a catalyst for some of the dreams and ambitions of others coming true in mine."
Brightman, an artist-ambassador of peace for OSCE and a soprano singer who performs in classical settings as well as in pop songs, released an album called "Dream Chaser" and will soon begin a global promotion campaign for the new album. A trip to space may be the ultimate promotional campaign.
In the music video for the song "Angel" she included film clips from the first space launches and recent sights from the space station. Brightman said that space exploration has inspired her throughout her life.
Russia halted the space tourism project in 2009 due to increasing the number of crew members on the space station, and is using all seats for launching crew members, even those previously sold to space tourists.
Along with Brightman, Alexey Krasnov, head of Roscosmos' manned launch department, and Ark Anderson, chairman of Space Adventures, the space tourism company that organized all previous tourist flights to the space station, also participated in the press conference.
"The schedule of her flight will soon be determined by Roscosmos and the partners of the International Space Station," said Brightman, adding that she was medically approved and that she would undergo six months of training in Russia.
"Last July, Mrs. Brightman completed and passed all medical tests and physical evaluations," Krasnow said. "She is suitable and mentally prepared for the training program. We will work closely with Space Adventures and support Brightman's candidacy for space flight."
During about ten days on the space station, Brightman plans to advance the mandate of OSCE and promote peace and sustainable development to safeguard the future of the planet. She will also try to promote education and strengthen the role of girls and women in science and technology in an effort to help close the gender gap in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The way to achieve both goals is still under development.
"I admire Sarah, not only for being a successful soprano singer, which she rightly deserves, but also for the young girl who was influenced by the flights of Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong who wants to reach her own star" says Anderson. "We look forward to working with her to make her dream come true."
The previous space tourists were Dennis Tito, Mark Athelworth, Greg Olsen, Anusha Ansari, Charles Simoni (twice flown), Richard Garriott and Guy LaLiberte, together the space tourists accumulated three months in the minuscule gravity of the International Space Station.
