Sir Bob Geldof has secured a seat on an SXC flight to space, sponsored by Luminox. He will travel to the upper reaches of the atmosphere in a winged rocket plane, wearing a Luminox watch designed to withstand the G-Forces encountered in space.
The singer, philanthropist and Nobel prize nominee will reach altitudes over 62 miles in a Lynx suborbital spaceship, which contains just two seats (one pilot, and one passenger). The Lynx can take off and land using a conventional airport runway.
"Being the first Irishman in space is not only a fantastic honour but pretty mind-blowing," Geldof said. "The first rock astronaut space rat! Elvis may have left the building but Bob Geldof will have left the Planet! Wild! Who would have thought it possible in my lifetime."
Geldof will begin training in a space flight simulator on September 26th 2013.
SXC Founder Michiel Mol said: 'We are so proud to have Mr Geldof aboard. He is an icon of social responsibility and in projects like Live Aid, he proved that entertainment and meaningfulness can be a great combination. We share that vision by offering our astronauts a life changing experience, while in the same time we are changing the concept of sustainable airline transportation all together; namely outside the earth's atmosphere."
Tickets for space flights are available to the public, with prices starting at $95,000. As an official partner of the project, every pilot and passenger that flies with the space tourism company SXC will be given a special Luminox watch.