Sarah Brightman talks up space mission

Singer Sarah Brightman has spoken about her planned trip to the International Space Station as she prepares for her upcoming journey.

A life long dream come true, Sarah has been training since January after being accepted by the Russian Federal Space Agency as a spaceflight participant for a planned flight arranged by Space Adventures, Ltd. Learning everything from wilderness survival to the Russian language, Sarah's passion for space is about to become a reality.

"When I was 9 years old, I watched the first man on the moon," she explains, "It actually changed my perception about life. Suddenly, my mind opened and I started to really work on the career I have now.

"I thank that moment, it was pivotal in my life. I never really talked about it as it could never be a reality, it was all very abstract. But it was always my ambition to fly to space, it's something I dreamed about and wanted.

"I now have the luck, I'm going up on the Russian Soyuz to the International Space Station. And if possible, I want others to take inspiration from my journey and chase their own dreams."

In preparation for her 10 day stay aboard the International Space Station, she is learning to conduct various scientific experiments, one of which will be the effect of zero gravity on her voice.

On top of the intense training in Star City, Russia, she has not forgotten about music and will become the first ever international artist to perform live from space.

"I live with the thought of this travel every second of my life. I wake up with it, I go to sleep with it, I dream of it. I cannot believe this is happening."

On a break in training, she has been working with her most famous collaborator, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber who has written a song for Sarah to celebrate her space flight, recorded in New York in the last week. Later this year, she will release a retrospective of her career that will include this special song.

And Sarah today revealed her personal Mission Patch, which every Cosmonaut designs for their mission. It captures the classic historic spirit of space travel and exploration, while using a female figure as the central motif – highlighting the potential of women to succeed in the worlds of science and technology, traditionally the preserve of men.

Sarah is working together with Challenger Center and NASA, to launch a programme to excite students about science, technology, engineering and mathematics and teach them how the arts can help unleash innovation and inspiration. Students will create videos using lyrics from one of Sarah Brightman's songs. Video entries will be posted online for public viewing and voting and the top entries and other fan favorites will be used to create one musical mashup video.

The summer-long initiative will culminate in a special event during Sarah's time aboard the ISS. After the video premiere, students at Challenger Learning Centers in the UK and the U.S. will have a chance to chat with Sarah live. The event will be streamed online.