Brightman's Countdown To Space Station Trip

British singer Sarah Brightman is set to blast off for 10-day stay on the International Space Station later this year, NASA has announced.

The soprano, who starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom Of The Opera, will pay $52m (£34m) for a trip on board a Russian Soyuz capsule.

The 54-year-old will become the eighth tourist to visit the station located 260 miles above the Earth.

Since NASA retired its shuttles in 2011, Russian Soyuz capsules have been fully booked with crew.

The last tourist to make the journey was Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, who spent $35m (£23m) for an 11-day stay on the station in 2009.

There is a seat spare on the Soyuz because Russia needs to supply a fresh capsule and bring two crew home.

The spacecraft will be piloted by Sergey Volkov, and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen will also be on board.

Brightman arrived in Russia this week and was set to begin a nine-month training programme this week. The start was delayed because she had a cold.

Japanese entrepreneur Satoshi Takamatsu has also travelled to the Star City training centre as a backup if the singer is unable to make the flight.