The internationally acclaimed singer has paid approximately $52 million for the round-trip ride aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule.

The 54-year-old Brightman will be the first professional singer to ever visit the orbital outpost.

Sergey Volkov will pilot the capsule that will carry Brightman and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen. Brightman will soon begin a training program that lasts nine months.

Sarah Brightman, who had a '70s dance hit on the British pop charts, caught the public's attention in Andrew Lloyd Webber's megahit The Phantom of the Opera when she created the role of opera singer Christine Daae. She also appeared in Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love before launching an internationally successful concert and recording career. In fact, her duet with tenor Andrea Boccelli, "Time to Say Goodbye," was certified gold in the U.S. and was number one on the Billboard charts for over 30 weeks. Her other solo recordings include, among others, "Symphony," "Encore," "Classics," "Fly," "La Luna," "Timeless," "Eden," "Fly 2," "Dive," "As I Came of Age," "Songs That Got Away" and "Sarah Brightman Sings the Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber."