New research findings recently published in The FASEB Journal, show that immune system development is affected by gravity changes, as reported by researchers from the University of Lorraine and University of Luxembourg. Astronauts are exposed to stresses, during launch and landing, which disrupts their body's natural defenses against infection. Changes to the immune system need to be investigated before astronauts undergo longer space missions.

Researchers looked at how antibody production is affected when animal development occurs onboard a space station and which part of space travel has the greatest impact on antibodies, which are the proteins that the immune system uses to protect us from diseases. To do this, they sent Iberian ribbed newt, Pleurodeles waltl, embryos to the International Space Station before the newt embryos started to develop IgM antibody, which is also found in humans and is the largest antibody that circulates in blood.

Upon landing, they were compared with embryos grown on Earth. Antibody mRNAs in space and earth newts were different. The IgM antibody was doubled at landing. Findings show that gravity changes during development affect antibodies and the regeneration of white blood cells, which are important in defending the body against infectious diseases. Spaceflight did not affect newt development nor did it cause inflammation.

Scientists believe that these changes could also occur in humans, and require further experimentation to see how gravity can influence the immune system and white blood cell function, which play a role in many human diseases including cancer and diabetes.

###

For more information on research at the University of Lorraine or the University of Luxembourg, please visit http://www.univ-lorraine.fr or http://www.uni.lu.

New publication Huin-Schohn C, et al. Gravity changes during animal development affect IgM heavy-chain transcription and probably lymphopoiesis. The FASEB Journal article fj.12-217547. E-publication, September 19, 2012. http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2012/09/20/fj.12-217547.abstract.

Contact: Britta Schlueter britta.schlueter@uni.lu 352-466-644-6563 University of Luxembourg

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Space station and space flight gravity influence immune system development New in developmental research

New research findings recently published in The FASEB Journal, show that immune system development is affected by gravity changes, as reported by researchers from the University of Lorraine and University of Luxembourg.

Astronauts are exposed to stresses, during launch and landing, which disrupts their body's natural defenses against infection. Changes to the immune system need to be investigated before astronauts undergo longer space missions.

Researchers looked at how antibody production is affected when animal development occurs onboard a space station and which part of space travel has the greatest impact on antibodies, which are the proteins that the immune system uses to protect us from diseases.

To do this, they sent Iberian ribbed newt, Pleurodeles waltl, embryos to the International Space Station before the newt embryos started to develop IgM antibody, which is also found in humans and is the largest antibody that circulates in blood.

Upon landing, they were compared with embryos grown on Earth. Antibody mRNAs in space and earth newts were different. The IgM antibody was doubled at landing.

Findings show that gravity changes during development affect antibodies and the regeneration of white blood cells, which are important in defending the body against infectious diseases. Spaceflight did not affect newt development nor did it cause inflammation.

Scientists believe that these changes could also occur in humans, and require further experimentation to see how gravity can influence the immune system and white blood cell function, which play a role in many human diseases including cancer and diabetes.

New publication Huin-Schohn C, et al. Gravity changes during animal development affect IgM heavy-chain transcription and probably lymphopoiesis. The FASEB Journal article fj.12-217547. E-publication, September 19, 2012.

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ISS and space flight gravity influence immune system development

SAN ANGELO, Texas Recently my daughter, who lives in Houston, sent me a text message. She was excited about watching the NASA747 with a piggyback Space Shuttle Endeavour flying low over the city. After receiving her message, I thought about the end of human space flight, an era which began when I was young.

When I was 10 years old, I remember listening to a recording by President Kennedy. In his speech to Congress, he declared, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."

The following year, I watched Neil Armstrong's arrival on the moon and when stepping onto the lunar surface, he uttered those famous words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

After the Apollo program, the next steps were the space shuttle, space station, and finally the Constellation program. The Constellation program would have provided a safer and economical replacement for the space shuttle, while providing the capability to travel to the space station, the moon, and eventually to Mars.

Returning to the moon was an essential first step to test the new technologies and human endurance required for the two-year round trip to Mars. The Constellation program has been canceled and the shuttle retired.

The United States has been the leader in human space flight, yet we have decided to give up this role. If NASA wants to send an astronaut to the space station, it writes a check for $63 million to the Russian Space Agency.

The Chinese National Space Agency is planning for a space station, along with human space flight to the moon and mars. The Indian Space Research Organization is also planning for human space flight. Perhaps we will need to encourage our future scientists, engineers, and astronauts to travel to Russia, China or India if they want to participate in human space flight.

Admittedly, our country is facing difficult financial times. Yet the federal budget continues to increase while the NASA budget continues to shrink. The total NASA budget is less than one-half of 1 percent of the federal budget.

By comparison, just the interest on the national debt is 14 times the amount spent by NASA. The defense budget is 30 times the size of NASA's.

It is ironic that while the government is spending billions of dollars to encourage students to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM awards of $3.7 billion in 2010), companies supporting NASA are terminating thousands of engineers, scientists and high-technology professionals. What message are we sending to our students?

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RICHARD PLUM: U.S. space retreat cause for sadness, alarm

ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2012) New research findings recently published in The FASEB Journal, show that immune system development is affected by gravity changes, as reported by researchers from the University of Lorraine and University of Luxembourg. Astronauts are exposed to stresses, during launch and landing, which disrupts their body's natural defenses against infection. Changes to the immune system need to be investigated before astronauts undergo longer space missions.

Researchers looked at how antibody production is affected when animal development occurs onboard a space station and which part of space travel has the greatest impact on antibodies, which are the proteins that the immune system uses to protect us from diseases. To do this, they sent Iberian ribbed newt, Pleurodeles waltl, embryos to the International Space Station before the newt embryos started to develop IgM antibody, which is also found in humans and is the largest antibody that circulates in blood.

Upon landing, they were compared with embryos grown on Earth. Antibody mRNAs in space and earth newts were different. The IgM antibody was doubled at landing. Findings show that gravity changes during development affect antibodies and the regeneration of white blood cells, which are important in defending the body against infectious diseases. Spaceflight did not affect newt development nor did it cause inflammation.

Scientists believe that these changes could also occur in humans, and require further experimentation to see how gravity can influence the immune system and white blood cell function, which play a role in many human diseases including cancer and diabetes.

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Space station and space flight gravity influence immune system development

(The brief video shows an F-22 Raptor flying formation with a vintage P-51 Mustang.)

The Miramar Air Show celebrated a half century of manned space flight over the weekend, a tip of the cap to former Marine fighter pilot John Glenn, who went on to become the first American to orbit Earth. The tribute turned out to be more timely than anyone could have guessed. Midway through Sunday's show, an announcer told a crowd of 100,000 people that someone else was pushing the boundaries of flight. Austrian Felix Baumgartner had just jumped from a balloon traveling 24 miles above earth. He parachuted softly to the ground, landing in the wide open spaces of New Mexico.

The announcement came while a jet was crackling overhead at Miramar, which also was fitting; Sunday was the 65th anniversary of the day that test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first human to break the sound barrier in an aircraft. The achievement would lead to extraordinary advances in powered flight. Yeager's feat hasn't been forgotten. Volunteers at the San Diego Air & Space Museum are building a full-size replica of the Bell X-1 that Yeager rode into history. It will go on display in December.

Sunday's wrap-up of the three-day Miramar Air Show highlighted such bravado. But the focus, as always, was on demonstrating Navy, Marine and Air Force aerial firepower. The spectators who snaked through the base's gates in long lines of traffic got to see everything from a vintage P-51 long-range fighter-bomber to the MV-22 Osprey to blindingly fast F-22 Raptor and FA-18 Super Hornet. Soldiers, sailors and Marines also dropped from the sky as the military showed off its skilled at precision parachuting. The reaction could be seen in the reaction of a little boy who stood with his father on the flight line. He looked up, stuck his fingers in his ears to block the shriek of jets, and smiled.

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'Sky kings' and a skydiver cap day of wonder

SAN DIEGO ---- The 57th annual Miramar Air Show, this year featuring the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flying squadron and a tribute to space flight, will finish up a three-day run today at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.

More than 700,000 airshow fans turn out each year for the free event, which opened Oct. 12 and concludes with an all-day show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

This year's air show celebrates Miramar's occupants with the theme "Marines in Flight: Celebrating 50 Years of Space Exploration." Special static exhibits will honor the U.S. Marine aviators who made history in space, including retired senator and astronaut John Glenn and current NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

Highlighting today's show will be the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, better known as the Blue Angels. Their F/A-18 Hornets will close the show around 3 p.m.

Other military acts scheduled to perform are the Navy's F/A-18 Super Hornet, an F-22 Raptor stealth plane, an AV-8B Harrier (capable of vertical liftoff), the Marine Air-Ground Task Force demonstration team, the U.S. Army's Golden Knights parachute team and the Navy's Leap Frogs jump team. There will also be legacy flight formations, showing state-of-the-art aircraft flying together with vintage fighter aircraft.

Civilian performers include the Patriots Jet Team, a flying tribute to Bob Hoover, Sean Tucker's "Oracle Challenger," John Collver's AT-6 Wardog, Bret Willat's Sailplane, hang glider Dan Buchanan, stunt pilot Gregory Colyer, Hawker Beechcraft's Texan II Demo plane and Smoke-n-Thunder, a car that races down the tarmac spouting 20-foot flames from its afterburners. There will also be a Red Bull helicopter, the Silver Wings wingwalking team, a radio-controlled plane demonstration and many more.

On the ground, patrons are invited to tour more than 100 aircraft, military vehicles, weapons and hardware systems on display at the airfield. There will also be a consumer fair, simulator rides, a military recruiters' fair and food, beverages and gifts for sale.

Because of heightened security, on-base visitors should come prepared. Food and nonalcoholic beverages (no glass bottles) are allowed in, but large coolers, backpacks and large bags must stay in the car. All bags will be searched. No pets, bikes, skateboards, skates or scooters are allowed.

All three gates will be open for air show visitors. Drivers can enter through the North and West gates on Miramar Road, or through the East/Main gate off Interstate 15 or Kearny Villa Road. The South Gate, off Harris Plant Road, is for preferred parking only. Parking is prohibited along the Interstate 15 corridor, and violators will be ticketed.

Gates open to the public at 8 a.m. Visitors are advised to bring blankets, beach chairs and shade umbrellas. Preferred and bleacher seating is available for an additional charge.

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Miramar Air Show ready to fly out of town

LAS CRUCES Less than 10 years ago, all the talk about the commercial space flight industry was conceptual. Today, it's about the five Ws who, what, where, when and why.

New Mexico has been a major player in the growth of the industry. It is preparing to start operations of Spaceport America, which is supposed to signal the start of everyday people having opportunities to fly commercially into space. Commercial space flight has already started, with cargo and payloads delivered to the International Space Station this summer.

To keep the synergy going, commercial space flight leaders will gather in Las Cruces this week for the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight. The symposium will be a two-day affair, Wednesday and Thursday at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, 4100 Dripping Springs Road, but other events associated with the symposium will also be conducted Tuesday and Friday.

"The personal and commercial space flight industry has come a long way since those early days," said Pat Hynes, symposium chairwoman, and director of the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium. "We have again brought together some of the most pre-eminent people in the world who are part of this exciting industry to share their knowledge, insights and visions."

A veritable who's who of personal and commercial space flight industry will be involved in this year's symposium. There will be 40 speakers at the conference, including Lori Garver,

Gov. Susana Martinez, and White Sands Missile Range commander Brig. Gen. Gwen Bingham will also be keynote speakers during the symposium. Bingham's speech, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, will be her first public appearance in Las Cruces since taking command at WSMR last month.

Martinez's speech will be at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

"The list of people who will be speaking is impressive," Hynes said. "In this day and time, when the economy has prompted so many to curtail travel and appearances at conferences or symposiums, their willingness to come and participate says a lot about how much, and how well, this industry is progressing. The marketplace has been evolving, things have changed enormously."

Las Crucens Raja Taylor has attended several past symposiums, and said every speech and panel discussion is interesting.

"There's no way you could come from a symposium and not learned something," Taylor said. "Because so much of this has only been conceptual until now, it's fascinating to realize how far we've come in such a short period of time and where all of this new technology is going."

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Space flight leaders gather in Las Cruces for symposium

New blastoff for Sarah Brightman: flight to space

MOSCOW -- Sarah Brightman's voice, beloved by audiences and renowned for its three-octave range, rocketed to fame more than two decades ago as the heroine of "The Phantom of the Opera." Now the world's biggest-selling soprano is heading to outer space.

On Wednesday, Brightman told a news conference in Moscow that she has booked a trip to the International Space Station. Brightman, who had a hit in 1978 with "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper" and has sold more than 30 million records, will become the first recording artist in space.

The British singer said that after touring the world in 2013 for her new album, "Dreamchaser," she will spend six months in Russia's Star City cosmonaut training center.

"I think of myself not just as a dreamer, but as a dream chaser," she said.

Brightman, a UNESCO ambassador, said the trip would also serve as a way to promote the U.N. agency's message, by encouraging women's education in the sciences and environmental awareness. She hinted at the possibility of doing a promotional "space concert."

She wouldn't give a precise time for her mission, but Alexei Krasnov, the head of manned programs at the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said she would likely make it in the fall of 2015.

Krasnov said the price tag for the flight was in "tens of millions of dollars," but refused to name a precise figure.

Brightman teamed up with the private company Space Adventures, which organizes trips for private space explorers. When questioned about the expense of the journey, Eric Anderson, co-founder and chairman of Space Adventures, wouldn't give a figure but joked that "it's a round-trip flight."

Previous flights have cost the adventurous travellers over $20 million each, according to several of the participants.

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Sarah Brightman to fly to space

VANCOUVER, WA--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2012) - Masterpiece Models, a boutique model making studio and workshop which specializes in custom fabrication at any scale, was commissioned by The Museum of Flight in December of 2011 to create a half size replica of the Hubble space telescope for their new Charles Simonyi Space Gallery which is scheduled to open to the public on November 10, 2012.

The replica, which has been installed at the Museum in Seattle, hovers above NASA's Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT), which was used for more than 30 years to train every person who flew on the space shuttle. NASA's retired astronaut trainer was delivered to The Museum of Flight during the Summer of 2012 over the course of three flights on a Super Guppy cargo plane from Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

"The deployment and subsequent repair of the Hubble Space Telescope were some of the most important -- and dramatic -- stories in the history of the Space Shuttle Program. Masterpiece Models' one-half scale model of the Hubble will certainly add to the visitor experience at the Museum's Space Shuttle Trainer exhibit, and help them visualize the telescope which has greatly broadened our understanding of the universe," says Chris Mailander, Museum of Flight Director of Exhibits.

Masterpiece Models began work on the space telescope in February 2012 and had the near exacting model completed within 6 months of the start date without the help of any plans from NASA or the Museum due to various security reasons. Masterpiece Models is also known for constructing other museum quality models such as a full size replica of the Mars Rover on display at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), an 11' long Nimitz Class aircraft Carrier for the Qatar Museum Authority, a 1/48th scale replica of the International Space Station (ISS), for the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center among many other equally impressive projects.

"This was one of the largest and most complex replicas ever built by Masterpiece Models," comments Masterpiece Models Founder, John Geigle. "Fabricating a scale replica has its own set of unique problems to solve. This replica, however, was especially challenging. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to creating a strong yet lightweight model. The educational values to this replica go a long way to delve into the history of the Space Shuttle and the exploration of deep space."

Aside from Masterpiece Models' obvious specialty in creating museum quality exhibits, they also have a casting facility for not only casting, but vacuum forming and molding as well. In addition, a part of Masterpiece Models is solely devoted to making military and science fiction model kits. Masterpiece Models was recently acquired by fine art corporation Masterpiece Investments in July of this year. Masterpiece Investments previously acquired digital 3D production studio Additive Workshop in 2010. Today, the combined artistic and production capabilities of this 'fine art meets high-tech' innovative group, which Masterpiece Models has recently joined, are literally endless.

To learn more about Masterpiece Models, visit http://www.masterpiecemodels.com. For more information on The Museum of Flight and the opening for the new Space Shuttle Trainer exhibit, visit http://www.museumofflight.org.

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Masterpiece Models Lands Half Size Hubble Space Telescope Replica at The Museum of Flight-Seattle, WA

British soprano and crossover singer Sarah Brightman confirmed on Wednesday that she will travel to the International Space Station as a space tourist.

I am planning to become a space flight participant and I have received a confirmation from [Russias space agency] Roscosmos that I can start the preparation for my flight, Brightman told a news conference in Moscow.

Brightman, 52, said she had been approved medically and would undergo six months of training in Russia after a 15-month world tour promoting her new album, Dream Chaser, which is scheduled for release in January 2013.

This voyage is a product of a dream, my dream. Finally it can be a reality. I am more excited about this than anything I have done in my life to date, Brightman said, adding that she would spend 10 days aboard the ISS and maybe even "sing a song from space."

The head of manned space missions at Roscosmos, Alexei Krasnov, confirmed at the same news conference that Brightman could travel to the orbital station aboard the Soyuz space craft in October 2015 together with a Russian cosmonaut and a NASA astronaut chosen for a year-long experimental mission on the ISS.

Brightman, known for her roles in West End musicals such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, will become the eighth private individual to make the trip to the ISS, which has been off limits to space tourists since 2010 as its crew grew from three to six astronauts.

The commercial flights to the ISS for space tourists are organized through US-based company Space Adventures, which has been authorized by Roscosmos to select and contract candidates for space tourist trips.

The price of a 10-day trip to the ISS for a tourist is estimated at about $35 million.

Space tourists started flying to the ISS in 2001. Dennis Tito, an American businessman and former NASA scientist, became the first space tourist when he visited the ISS in 2001.

He was followed by South African computer millionaire Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, and Gregory Olsen, a U.S. entrepreneur and scientist, in 2005.

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Sarah Brightman Announces 'Dream' Space Flight

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 11, 2012) - The space shuttle Endeavour will be traveling through the streets of Los Angeles to her new and final home at the California Science Center on Friday, October 12. It will bring a bittersweet end to a notable era in U.S. space exploration, but an exciting new era of privatized space exploration is already well under way.

"While we bid a fond farewell to the Space Shuttle program and the era of spaceflight it represents, I've never been more excited than now about our opportunities going forward," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation, which has conducted two multi-million-dollar prizes, helping spur massive private investment and research in space exploration in recent years.

"We're now in an era where space exploration no longer is only done by a few highly trained, government-employed specialists," Diamandis said. "Since 2001, we've seen the first space tourists, the first private space companies and even, earlier this year, the first privately developed and operated capsule to travel to the International Space Station."

"Sometimes, these private initiatives will work in cooperation with the government organizations that funded and conducted space travel in the past," Diamandis commented. "Sometimes they will operate independently of government involvement and support, potentially dramatically accelerating exploration and research opportunities."

The new era in private space exploration began in earnest in 2001, when Santa Monica investor Dennis Tito paid $20 million to Space Adventures (www.SpaceAdventures.com) to fly aboard a Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station. Many other private space efforts have happened since:

Pursuit of these X PRIZE Foundation competitions has spurred a flurry of investment and technological development by private companies trying to create reusable space vehicles.

In the process, they have helped create a private space industry that is an increasingly viable partner with public space agencies, so much so that SpaceX founder (and X PRIZE Trustee) Elon Musk told ABC's "Nightline" that his company expects to be able to send humans to Mars in "roughly 12 to 15 years."

"The X PRIZE Foundation can be proud of its role in helping midwife this Fourth Era of Spaceflight and Exploration," Diamandis said. "The opportunities before us are remarkable, and we intend to continue our special role in encouraging private investment and research to open the skies for us all."

ABOUT X PRIZE FOUNDATION Founded in 1995, the X PRIZE Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is the leading organization solving the world's Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. The X PRIZE Foundation conducts competitions in five Prize Groups: Education; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, the $10 million Archon Genomics X PRIZE presented by Express Scripts, the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE, and the $2.25 million Nokia Sensing X CHALLENGE. For more information, go to http://www.xprize.org.

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The Next Era in Space Travel and Exploration Continues as Endeavour's Final Flight Ends

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Singer Sarah Brightman at a press conference on October 10 to announce her upcoming space flight.

Roscosmos and Space Adventures are re- starting space tourism flights, and the next space tourist will be singer Sarah Brightman, who will head to the International Space Station on a Soyuz rocket. Brightman, 52, announced her trip at a press conference in Moscow on Wednesday, saying that she hopes her trip which will likely take place in 2015 will be a catalyst for the hopes and dreams of people around the world.

I dont think of myself as a dreamer. Rather, I am a dream chaser, said Sarah Brightman. I hope that I can encourage others to take inspiration from my journey both to chase down their own dreams and to help fulfill the important UNESCO mandate to promote peace and sustainable development on Earth and from space. I am determined that this journey can reach out to be a force for good, a catalyst for some of the dreams and aims of others that resonate with me. Brightman is a UNESCO Artist for Peace Ambassador, and is a classical soprano who also has topped the music charts with her pop music.

Coincidently, her new album is titled Dream Chaser, and she soon starts a world-wide tour to promote her new album. A trip to space would be the ultimate promotion tour. See a video below of her latest single, Angel, which includes footage from early space flight and recent views from the ISS. Brightman said space exploration has inspired her all her life.

Russia halted orbital space tourism in 2009 due to the increase in the International Space Station crew size, using the seats for expedition crews that would normally be sold to paying spaceflight participants.

Along with Brightman at the press conferece were Alexey Krasnov, Head of Roscosmos Piloted Programs Department and Eric Anderson, Chairman of Space Adventures, a space tourism company that has arranged all previous tourist flights to the Space Station.

The schedule for her flight will be determined very shortly by Roscosmos and the ISS partners, Brightman said, adding she had been approved medically and will do six months training in Russia.

This past July, Ms. Brightman completed and passed all of the required medical and physical evaluations, said Krasnov. Shes fit and mentally prepared for our spaceflight training program. We will work closely with Space Adventures in supporting Ms. Brightmans spaceflight candidacy.

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Singer Sarah Brightman Will be Next Space Tourist

MOSCOW (AP) Sarah Brightman's voice, beloved by audiences and renowned for its three-octave range, rocketed to fame more than two decades ago as the heroine of "The Phantom of the Opera." Now the world's biggest-selling soprano is heading to outer space.

On Wednesday, Brightman told a news conference in Moscow that she has booked a trip to the International Space Station. Brightman, who had a hit in 1978 with "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper" and has sold more than 30 million records, will become the first recording artist in space.

The British singer said that after touring the world in 2013 for her new album, Dreamchaser, she will spend six months in Russia's Star City cosmonaut training center.

"I think of myself not just as a dreamer, but as a dream chaser," she said.

Brightman, a UNESCO ambassador, said the trip would also serve as a way to promote the U.N. agency's message, by encouraging women's education in the sciences and environmental awareness. She hinted at the possibility of doing a promotional "space concert."

She wouldn't give a precise time for her mission, but Alexei Krasnov, the head of manned programs at the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said she would likely make it in the fall of 2015.

Krasnov said the price tag for the flight was in "tens of millions of dollars," but refused to name a precise figure.

Brightman teamed up with the private company Space Adventures, which organizes trips for private space explorers. When questioned about the expense of the journey, Eric Anderson, co-founder and chairman of Space Adventures, wouldn't give a figure but joked that "it's a round-trip flight."

Previous flights have cost the adventurous travellers over $20 million each, according to several of the participants.

The cost should be of little concern for Brightman, who has grossed millions of dollars from her tours and albums. Brightman, ex-wife of Broadway playwright Andrew Lloyd Webber, said in a 2008 interview with the Guardian that she had offered to return the money she won in their divorce settlement, worth 6 million pounds.

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New blastoff for Sarah Brightman: flight to space

Fulfilling a lifelong dream, singer Sarah Brightman has booked a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a 10-day visit to the International Space Station.

Soprano Sarah Brightman, believed to be one of the world's wealthiest classical crossover performers, has booked a seat on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft for a 10-day visit to the International Space Station.

The launch schedule has not been announced, but the first available flight is believed to be in mid- to late-2015.

"As I'm sure you may know, I'm planning to become a spaceflight participant and have been recently approved to begin my spaceflight training by the Russian space federation, having passed the necessary medical and physical tests," she said today, reading prepared remarks at a news conference in Moscow.

Sarah Brightman will begin training for a flight to the International Space Station after a tour next year to promote a new album, the singer said during a Moscow news conference Wednesday.

"The final scheduling and details of my trip by Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station will be determined very shortly by Roscosmos and the ISS partners," she noted.

Brightman said she will go on tour next year to promote a new album, visiting five continents before returning to Russia to begin six months of mission-specific training.

"This extraordinary voyage has been many months in the planning but more accurately, has been many years in the making," she said. "Throughout most of my life, I felt an incredible desire to take the journey to space that I have now begun."

She said her dream began in 1969 when she was 8 years old watching Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon

"There, as a small an incredulous child, I watched a man bound gently from the steps of a rocket ship and land on the surface of the moon," she said. "This really was an adventure, it was something miraculous. For me, it was an epiphany.

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Singer Sarah Brightman books flight to space station

In a milestone mission for NASA, SpaceX launched an unmanned commercially developed cargo ship on a flight to the International Space Station Sunday, the company's first under a $1.6 billion contract.

An unmanned cargo ship loaded with spare parts, science equipment, and crew supplies -- including ice cream treats -- rocketed into orbit Sunday and set off after the International Space Station, kicking off a new era of commercial resupply flights intended to restore a U.S. supply chain that was crippled by the shuttle's retirement.

The Dragon capsule and its Falcon 9 rocket, both built by Space Exploration Technologies, took off with a rush of fiery exhaust at 8:35:07 p.m. EDT (GMT-4), quickly climbing away from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying an unmanned cargo capsule, both built by Space Exploration Technologies, climbs away from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the company's first operational space station resupply mission.

Making its first operational flight under a $1.6 billion NASA contract, the 157-foot-tall Falcon 9 arced away on a northeasterly trajectory paralleling the East Coast of the United States, putting on a spectacular evening sky show for area residents and tourists.

Liftoff was timed to roughly coincide with the moment the Earth's rotation carried the pad into the plane of the space station's orbit, the only way for the spacecraft to catch up with its 5-mile-per-second target.

Generating more than 855,000 pounds of thrust, the Falcon 9 went supersonic one minute and 10 seconds after launch as its nine first-stage Merlin engines boosted the spacecraft out of the dense lower atmosphere.

Just more than three minutes after liftoff, the first stage fell away and a single second stage engine continued the push to orbit. Live television views from a camera mounted at the base of the second stage showed the engine nozzle glowing cherry red against the black of space as the rocket climbed toward orbit.

The second stage appeared to operate normally and the Dragon capsule was released about 10 minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff. A few moments later, cameras showed the capsule's two solar arrays unfolding and locking in place.

Launched into an initially elliptical orbit with a high point of 204 miles and a low point of around 126 miles, the spacecraft will carry out a complex computer-orchestrated series of rendezvous rocket firings to catch up with the space station early Wednesday.

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SpaceX cargo ship takes off on commercial flight to station

A commercial cargo ship rocketed into orbit Sunday in pursuit of the International Space Station, the first of a dozen supply runs under a mega-contract with NASA.

It was the second launch of a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab by the California-based SpaceX company. The first was last spring.

This time was no test flight, however, and the spacecraft carried 1,000 pounds of key science experiments and other precious gear on this truly operational mission. There was also a personal touch: chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream tucked in a freezer for the three station residents.

The company's unmanned Falcon rocket roared into the night sky right on time, putting SpaceX on track to reach the space station Wednesday. The complex was soaring southwest of Tasmania when the Falcon took flight.

Officials declared the launch a success, despite a problem with one of the nine first-stage engines. The rocket put Dragon in its intended orbit, said the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of SpaceX, Elon Musk.

"It's driving its way to station, so that's just awesome," noted SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

In more good news, a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the station, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums. The space agency has a $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX for 12 resupply missions.

Especially exciting for NASA is the fact that the Dragon will return twice as much cargo as it took up, including a stockpile of astronauts' blood and urine samples. The samples nearly 500 of them have been stashed in freezers since Atlantis made the last shuttle flight in July 2011.

The Dragon will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the Pacific at the end of October. By then, the space station should be back up to a full crew of six.

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SpaceX Launched to Space Station

SpaceX rocket launches for ISS

The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 8:35 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky. About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.

Mission control called it "a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon."

It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

"It's a great evening," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell after the launch. "It's just awesome."

The launch comes nearly five months after a demonstration mission in which a Dragon capsule successfully berthed at the station and returned to Earth. Shotwell said the Sunday mission isn't "substantially different" from that flight, "with the exception that we got there once."

The unmanned capsule is packed with about 1,000 pounds of cargo -- everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives. It's scheduled to return in late October with about 2,000 pounds of cargo, including scientific experiments and failed equipment that can be repaired and sent back, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said.

"These flights are critical to the space station's sustainment and to begin full utilization of the space station for research and technology development," he said.

The Dragon spacecraft is supposed to catch up with the space station early Wednesday. Station Commander Sunita Williams and Aki Hoshide from the Japanese Space Agency will use the robotic arm to grab Dragon and berth it to the station.

More:

First commercial flight goes to space station

(CNN) The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 8:35 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky. About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.

Mission control called it a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon.

It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

The launch comes nearly five months after a demonstration mission in which a Dragon capsule successfully berthed at the station and returned to Earth. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the Sunday mission isnt substantially different from that flight, with the exception that we got there once.

We demonstrated we could do it, so there might be a teeny, teeny bit of relaxation, Shotwell told reporters Saturday ahead of the launch. Not a lot, though.

The unmanned capsule is packed with about 1,000 pounds of cargo everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives. Its scheduled to return in late October with about 2,000 pounds of cargo, including scientific experiments and failed equipment that can be repaired and sent back, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said.

These flights are critical to the space stations sustainment and to begin full utilization of the space station for research and technology development, he said.

The Dragon spacecraft is supposed to catch up with the space station early Wednesday. Station Commander Sunita Williams and Aki Hoshide from the Japanese Space Agency will use the robotic arm to grab Dragon and berth it to the station.

Much of Dragons cargo is material to support extensive experimentation aboard the space station. One deals with plant growth. Plants on Earth use about 50% of their energy for support to overcome gravity. Researchers want to understand how the genes that control that process would operate in microgravity when objects are in free-fall in space. Down the road, that could benefit food supplies here on the planet.

Here is the original post:

SpaceX rocket on 1st cargo flight to International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 8:35 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky.

About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.

Mission control called it "a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon."

It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

"It's a great evening," said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell after the launch. "It's just awesome."

The launch comes nearly five months after a demonstration mission in which a Dragon capsule successfully berthed at the station and returned to Earth.

Shotwell said the Sunday mission isn't "substantially different" from that flight, "with the exception that we got there once."

The unmanned capsule is packed with about 1,000 pounds of cargo -- everything from low-sodium food kits to clothing and computer hard drives.

It's scheduled to return in late October with about 2,000 pounds of cargo, including scientific experiments and failed equipment that can be repaired and sent back, ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said.

Read the rest here:

SpaceX Cargo Flight Heading to Internat'l Space Station

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 5:48 AM EDT, Mon October 8, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The SpaceX rocket, the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, lifted off Sunday night carrying an unmanned cargo capsule.

The Falcon 9 rocket with its Dragon capsule launched on schedule at 8:35 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with an orange blaze against the black night sky. About 10 minutes into the flight, the Dragon separated from the rocket and was on its way to the station.

Mission control called it "a picture-perfect launch and a flawless flight of Falcon."

It is is the first of a dozen NASA-contracted flights to resupply the International Space Station, at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

SpaceX launches new era for exploration

SpaceX launches new era for exploration

SpaceX launches new era for exploration

The rest is here:

SpaceX cargo flight launches new era