Philip and Sandra Lomas will be taking the trip to Florida to watch the NASA mission blast off.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis will journey to the International Space Station with their son-in-law, Piers Sellers, on board.

The couple, from Mytholmroyd near Halifax, will watch the shuttle leave for the 11-day mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 2 October.

It's out of this world, really

Sandra Lomas

The Lomas' daughter Mandy met Mr Sellers when he was completing a PhD at Leeds University.

The couple now live in Houston, Texas.

Mr Lomas said he was not sure how he would feel when he saw the shuttle taking off.

"Luckily, we'll probably have some grandstand view but we'll be a long way away because you can't stand close with all that," he said.

The Lomas will fly to Florida

During the trip - his first into space - Mr Sellers will space walk three times and also work on the International Space Station.

The launch of the flight - named STS-112 - will be the 15th shuttle mission to visit the space station and the 26th flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Mrs Lomas said: "I can't believe I'm speaking to somebody who next week is going to be up in the stars."

"It's out of this world, really.

"The thing I'm looking forward to is seeing him walking back through the door of his house."