Satoshi_Takamatsu and Sarah Brightman (far right) meet the media. (Credit: Roscosmos)
MOSCOW (Roscosmos PR) — Today in the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC) the famous British actress, songwriter and dancer Sarah Brightman and Japanese advertising guru Satoshi Takamatsu began their spaceflight training.
VIENNA, Va. (Space Adventures PR) — Today, Space Adventures, Ltd., the only company that provides human space missions to the world marketplace, announced that Satoshi Takamatsu will begin training as an International Space Station (ISS) crew member candidate for a flight on a Soyuz TMA spacecraft. After successful completion of the program, Takamatsu will be certified as a ‘fully-trained spaceflight participant cosmonaut’ and will be the first Japanese private astronaut qualified to visit the ISS.
An update on singer Sarah Brightman’s space tourism trip to the International Space Station (ISS) next year: British famed soprano singer Sarah Brightman would begin pre-flight trainings for her journey to the International Space Station (ISS) as a space tourist early next year, instead of this autumn, Yuri Lonchakov, the head of the Russia’s Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, said on Wednesday. “She will begin trainings in the Star City in […]
Google co-founder Sergey Brin could be the next space tourist to journey to the International Space Station. Space Adventures President Tom Shelley told Reuters that Brin, whose net worth is $30.2 billion, has put down a deposit on a seat aboard a future Soyuz flight to the orbiting laboratory. “He paid us a deposit and whenever we have a seat available, he has the right of first refusal,” Shelley said. […]
The battle of singing space divas is on!
In this corner, British soprano Sarah Brightman, who is paying $52 million to fly to the International Space Station in September 2015.
And in the other corner, the always interesting and frequently controversial Lady Gaga, scheduled to blast into space aboard Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo as part of the Zero G Colony music festival in early 2015.
Wait? What? How could Brightman get there first if Gaga is flying earlier?
Good question.
Good news, everyone! It looks like soprano Sarah Brightman will be flying to the International Space Station after all. Just like they announced nine months ago.
Ending months of crackling suspense that had millions (or thousands, hundreds, or maybe just scores –hard to say) of people around the world on the edge of their seats, Russian officials have appeared to re-announced what they once again say are firm plans to have the British recording star travel to ISS aboard a Soyuz spacecraft.
“The sides will discuss in the near future the implementation of this project, including Sarah Brightman’s preparation for the flight and the program of her activities on board the orbital station,” the Russian space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.
As Russian and American officials consider if and when to send sopranonaut Sarah Brightman into space, the British singer has hedged her bets by buying a less costly ride there.
Keeping all bases covered Miss Brightman, who has an estimated fortune of £30 million, already has a much cheaper ticket, just £125,000, for Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic programme, which hopes to begin carrying commercial passengers into space next year. But the singer is said to be frustrated by the lack of any firm date….
Soprano Sarah Brightman’s 2015 trip to the International Space Station could be delayed or canceled, Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin told reporters on Saturday. The British soprano was set to go on an eight-day trip to the station, but NASA and Roskosmos are considering extending the visiting flight to one month, in which case she would have to give up her seat to a professional spaceman, Popovkin said. “If it’s a […]
Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin. (Credit: Roscosmos)
Izvestia has published a lengthy interview with Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin, who touched upon issues that included singer Sarah Brightman’s planned space tourism flight, upcoming Angara flight tests, American interest in purchasing a new rocket engine, Russia’s launch record in 2012, and the general state of the industry.
Key excerpts, courtesy of Google Translate, are reproduced below. All the sections involve translated quotes except for the one on Angara flights.
On Sarah Brightman’s Planned Space Tourism Flight
“We are not opposed to training, but so far we have no contract to that effect has been signed. By agreement between Roscosmos and NASA planned extremely long expedition to the ISS crew of two in 2015, people will spend at the station for a year. At the same time, the warranty term of the spacecraft Soyuz in orbit – no more than six months. That is, during the extremely long expedition ship docked to the ISS needs to be changed. Question – how to do it? You can put it in two tourists and 10 days to return back. The second option – to do some expedition. But the 10-day expedition is impractical – in fact it will be hidden in the performance of tourism trained astronauts. You can extend the life of the expedition up to 40 days, but then on the ISS will not be six and nine. All this pulls the start of another cargo ship ‘Progress,’ and this is serious money we are unlikely to find, as the program up to 2015 is already laid out. Therefore, we have not decided who to put in two free seats. Send our trained astronaut to have it on 10 days to fly there in fact a tourist by the state – perhaps it is not entirely justified. Moreover, our European colleagues have told us that they would like to purchase a vacant chair for her astronaut. Now we weigh all the ‘pros’ and ‘cons.’ Plan to take a decision in the I quarter of next year.”
Russian officials are making noises that British sopranonaut Sarah Brightman might not take a joy ride to the International Space Station after all. It’s difficult to tell whether there are serious issues with the upcoming flight, or whether this is a Russian negotiating tactic.
Roscosmos Head Vladimir Popovkin told reporters on Friday that Brightman intends to fly to ISS but that the space agency hasn’t made a final decision to let her do so. He expected officials would make a decision during the second half of next year.
“We need to provide young cosmonauts with flight practice,” Popovkin reportedly said, apparently in reference to a group of eight cosmonaut trainees recently selected by the Russian space agency.
