Madonna Set to Blast Off  9/15/06

Pop queen Madonna has been granted permission to travel into space after Russian officials agreed to let her onboard a spacecraft.

The Material Girl was initially banned from space travel after 252 Russian parliament members refused to back the idea.

But now the singer, who courted controversy at her gig in Moscow on Tuesday

(12SEP06) with a dance routine during in which she writhed on a cross wearing a crown of thorns, has received permission from Russian cosmonauts to blast into space in three years (09).

Using Madonna's real name, the Russian Space Agency says, "Taking into account the physical preparedness and financial capabilities, the dream of Louise Ciccone of a space flight could be realized in 2009."