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.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.