LOS ANGELES - TS -
Justin Bieber’s next project will be out of this world - after he signed up to become an astronaut.
The pop superstar is the latest celebrity to join Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space mission along with Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher.
Bieber along with his manager Scooter Braun have coughed up $250,000 to join the project.
Richard Branson, who is organising the trip, said it was great that Justin Bieber is coming along, tweeting: “Great to hear @justinbieber & @scooterbraun are latest @virgingalactic future astronauts. Congrats, see you up there!”
Other celebs rumoured to be keen on donning their spacesuits include Brad and Angelina Jolie and Beyonce and Jay Z - who want to record the first music video in space. The swish Virgin spaceship went through its first supersonic, flight in April.
The successful test of the rocket-powered aircraft which took place in California, broke the speed of sound.
The programme wants to start taking passengers next year. Aircrafts will go to the edge of space - and experience weightlessness for several minutes.
A statement on Virgin Galactic’s website says: “Virgin Galactic aims to make sub-orbital space accessible to anyone with a dream to view the Earth and experience microgravity.”
The spaceship went through its first supersonic, rocket-powered test flight in California in April. It’s expected to start taking people to space in 2014.