Sarah Brightman to be First Singer in Outer Space

Opera from outer space?  It almost sounds like the next big low-budget horror flick but it could actually become a reality.  Sarah Brightman, who many of you may know from her turn as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera, has joined a mission to the International Space Station.

Brightman will probably be in orbit for 10 days and has hopes of performing from there. 

The announcement was made in Moscow, Russia earlier this week and, after releasing her upcoming album, Dreamchaser, in January, she plans to begin her pre-orbit training which should take approximately six months. She will complete her world tour first, though.

In case you are wondering how this happened, it’s all because Brightman is a UNESCO Artist for Peace ambassador so the trip is intended to encourage women to pursue careers in science and technology and also will included work with Virgin Galactic's Galactic Unite STEM Scholarship program.

In a statement, the famous soprano said: "I don't think of myself as a dreamer. Rather, I am a dream chaser. I hope that I can encourage others to take inspiration from my journey both to chase down their own dreams and to help fulfill the important UNESCO mandate to promote peace and sustainable development on earth and from space."

That’s a worthy cause and it’s also super exciting that her duties will take her to space!  How many people can say that about their jobs (except for astronauts, of course)?

The British singer will be joining the crew of a Soyuz rocket with assistance from Space Adventures, Ltd.