Starship Trooper singer Sarah Brightman books ticket to International Space Station

Sarah Brightman, Lloyd Webber's former wife and the first leading lady, Christine, in Phantom of the Opera, may be planning her next adventure - in space (AP)

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.

AP