Off the wire
• 1st LD Writethru: Gold up sharply on weak U.S. data  • Slovak, Czech army engineers trained for humanitarian, rescue operations  • Urgent: U.S. dollar drops on weak data  • Slovak economy records 3.1 pct Q1 growth, fastest since 2011  • Finland's application for NATO membership not ruled out in next 4 years  • Urgent: Gold up sharply on weak U.S. data  • New blood test could quickly predict severity of radiation injury: study  • Urgent: Oil prices go down as U.S. production increases  • Roundup: Unexpected growth rebound provides relief in France, but cautions remain  • Police seize 90kg of cocaine in Russia's St. Petersburg  
You are here: 　 Home

Sarah Brightman postpones planned space journey

Xinhua, May 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

British singer Sarah Brightman on Wednesday announced the postponement of her space journey to the International Space Station (ISS), which was originally scheduled for Sept. 1, due to "family reasons."

"Sarah Brightman announced today that she is postponing her plans to fly aboard the upcoming Soyuz TMA-18M spaceflight mission, " according to a statement posted on her website.

"Ms. Brightman said that for personal family reasons her intentions have had to change and she is postponing her cosmonaut training and flight plans at this time," the statement said.

Earlier this year, the 54-year-old soprano has began her space journey training at Star City, just outside of Moscow, where she was said to train for 15 to 16 hours a day.

Brightman, in the statement, expressed her "extreme gratitude" to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency responsible for the flight plan, and other space agencies for their support.

Brightman announced her intention to fly to the ISS in October 2012 and has reportedly paid over 50 million U.S. dollars for the 10-day journey in the outer space. In doing so, she would become the first professional musician to sing on board.

The renowned singer-actress said it has been her lifelong ambition to travel into space "even since she witnessed the 1969 Moon landings on television as a small girl."

"We've seen first-hand her dedication to every aspect of her spaceflight training and to date, has passed all of her training and medical tests," said Eric Anderson, Co-Founder and Chairman of U.S.-based Space Adventures, a privately owned firm that is arranging the trip.

"We applaud her determination and we'll continue to support her as she pursues a future spaceflight opportunity," Anderson said in the statement. Endite