HOLLYWOOD star Tom Cruise cheated death in the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, The Sun can reveal.

The “space nut” actor, 53, had hoped to join the fateful US mission after being given secret astronaut training by NASA.

All seven crew members on the flight were killed in the tragic disaster which took place when the shuttle blew up over Texas while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere 13 years ago.

But The Sun can reveal that Tom was supposed to be part of the voyage after being given secret training by NASA.

In the end he had a lucky escape from the doomed trip.

Film director Toni Myers, who directed Tom on flick Space Station 3D, revealed the actor’s ambitions.

“Tom wanted to be an astronaut, he flies his own GulfStream IV Jet and he’s qualified as a pilot,” he said.

“He was very enthusiastic about doing Space Station 3D but the deal was he also wanted to fly in the Space Shuttle.

“He had a very good chance of doing so but then the accident happened and that was the end of that.”

Tom has always been interested in astronomy and even played an astronaut in 2013 film Oblivion.

To prepare for the trip he was given an induction course by NASA in Florida and was taught how to replicate walking in a space suit by wading in a water tank.

The so-called “space nut” even forced NASA to redesign their entire website during the early 2000s.

He also once told The Sun of his plans to pay $A265000 for a seat on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space flight.

However, he is yet to say whether he has changed his mind since its test flight crashed and killed the co-pilot in 2014.

The actor has also previously admitted to believing in aliens — something which relates to his religion of Scientology.

Discussing extraterrestrial life, he said you can actually count it out.

“It might be a little arrogant to think we were the only ones in all the galaxies throughout the universe — but I’ve never met one,” he said.

The 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia exploded over Texas, Louisiana, in 2003 when a piece of foam insulation broke off and struck its left wing, leaving all seven astronauts on board dead.