All Lance in Space, ALL the Time!
'Fare'
arguments endanger *NSYNC star's space flight
Star Ledger
8/15/02
LOS ANGELES-- Lance Bass' space
voyage was at risk while Hollywood dealmakers and Russian
beaucrats squabbled over payment for the pop idol's $20 million
trip.
"We have a contract, but we don't have any money," Russian Aerospace Agency spokesman Kinstantin Kreidenko said.
Bass hopes to be a member of the crew scheduled to travel on Russian a Russian Soyuz rocket to the international space station in October.
But the deadline for the *NSYNC singer to make payment to secure his spot was Tuesday, according to a Russian space agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Kreidenko would noy confirm that.
David Krieff, a Los Angeles television producer who plans a series about Bass' trip and is gathering sponsors, blamed the problems on paperwork snags -- and Russian beaurocrats.
"In my mind it's a lot of talk and posturing. That is their style and I can appreciate it," Krieff said Tuesday.
"This is 100 percent going foward."
Krieff declined to discuss whether a payment was due Tuesday, saying there was a nondisclosure agreement. He singled out space agent Sergei Gorbunov as a vocal critic of Bass' voyage. Gorbunov called such comments "foolish."
"But should he fly for free?" Gorbunov asked. "Perhaps he (Krieff) thinks I am against the mission because I keep saying that he needs to pay."
Krieff acknowledged there was a delay in transferring funds to Russia and said it was because he had recieved only an e-mailed copy of the contract. A signed paper version was required to secure insurance, he said.
Bass had no comment on the matter, a spokeswoman said Tuesday in Los Angeles.
The 23-year-old woud become the youngest person, the third paying tourist and the first pop star in space.
He has been training at Russia's Star City cosmonaut center outside Moscow since July. Cameras are recording his progress for the TV show.
"He's doing beautifully, he's kicking butt in every way. He's totally dedicated and everybody loves him there," Krieff said.
Things are looking rosy financially as well, he said. He's lined up three sponsors so far who have committed between $5 million and $15 million each, he said.
Although he declined to identify them yet, he said they include a "huge soft drink" manufactorer and a conglomerate "like Procter & Gamble." He said a U.S. TV network, also unidentified, was attached to the series and the program had been sold to 40 other countries.
"Celebrity Mission: Lance Bass" would include six one-hour episodes showing the singer training for the voyage and a two-hour special showing the launch and Bass in space. The series would end with an episode about Bass' return to Earth and a concert, perhaps held a week after he's released from post-quaratine, Krieff said.
Krieff's Destiny Productions is working with Amsterdam-based MirCorp and the William Morris Agency on the project. Both Bass and Krieff, whose credits include a Fox special on skating rivals Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, are represented by the agency.
The cost of the week-an-a-half long space trip is on the $20 million range. Businessmen Dennis Tito of California and Mark Shuttleworth of South Africa have paid to journey to the space station.
Bass' journey could be just the beginnning of other "Celebrity Mission" chapters, Krieff said.
"I have 15 other celebrities, huge 'A' and 'B' list celebrities, that are wanting to do exactly what we're doing. It's a dream come true."
THANX to NSYNCSTUDIO.COM
*NSYNC's Lance in space
talks
(Thursday, July 11, 2002 1:34:50 PM) from BBC
UK: "* *NSYNC's Lance Bass is in talks with the Russian
space agency to secure a seat on their next mission into orbit.
He arrived at the astronaut training camp last week but has not
finalised a deal to become a space tourist. In May, Lance
announced that he had been declared fit to go into space after
undergoing surgery to correct a heart murmur. Although the singer
claimed he was going into space, the space agency denied that
they had had any contact with the star. They now confirm that
talks are taking place but that nothing has yet been agreed. The
next Russian mission into space blasts off in October with a
visit to the International Space Station. One seat has been kept
available for a tourist on the flight. If he isn't ready in time,
there is another mission planned for next spring.
Crooner
wants to say "bye bye bye" to Earth
Star Ledger
7/10
Lance Bass of the
boy band *NSYNC is negotiating with the Russian Space Agency at
its cosmonaut training center as part if his bid to become the
next space tourist.
Bass arrived at Russia's Star City, north of Moscow, last week to participate in some preliminary training the space agency said yesterday.
Russian space doctors have cleared the 23-year-old singer for a flight, but space officials said negotiations are still ongoing and a contract has not been signed.
Bass hopes to secure a place on Soyuz rocket that is to be launched this October to the International Space Station. The singer, a Mississippi native, has said it was his childhood dream to travel to space.
The world's second space touris, South African Mark Shuttleworth, returned to Earth in May after a weeklong trip that cost a him $20 million -- the same sum the world's first space tourist, Dennis Tito, paid last year.
Lance Bass' Space Quest
Continues
(Tuesday, July 09, 2002 2:05:16 PM) from AP:
"Lance Bass of the boy band 'N Sync is negotiating with the
Russian Space Agency at its cosmonaut training center as part of
his bid to become the next space tourist.
Bass arrived at Russia's Star City, north of
Moscow, last week to participate in some preliminary training,
the space agency said Tuesday.
Russian space doctors have cleared the
23-year-old singer for a flight, but space officials said
negotiations are still ongoing and a contract had not been
signed.
Bass hopes to secure a place on the Soyuz
rocket that is to be launched this October to the International
Space Station. The singer, a Mississippi native, has said it was
his childhood dream to travel to space.
The world's second space tourist, South
African Mark Shuttleworth, returned to Earth in May after a
weeklong trip that cost him $20 million — the same sum the
world's first space tourist, Dennis Tito, paid last year.
'N Sync's Bass Talking with
Russia on Space Flight
(Tuesday, July 09, 2002 2:03:36 PM) from
Reuters: "Russian space officials are in talks with U.S.
boy band singer Lance Bass to become the next fare-paying tourist
to blast off to the International Space Station, the country's
space agency said Tuesday.
"What we can confirm is that talks are
going on," Rosaviakosmos spokesman Konstantin Kredenko said
by telephone.
"No contract has been signed. The talks
could lead to one being signed, but so far there is no time frame
for this."
Bass, 23 and a member of 'N Sync , told
reporters in May that he had received preliminary approval from
Russian doctors to undertake the flight. That would make him the
first pop star in space and the youngest space traveler ever.
Bass said it had long been his dream to go
into space but acknowledged he had yet to secure permission from
Rosaviakosmos. The agency has been giving little publicity to his
request.
Two other fare-paying cosmonauts have flown to
the still incomplete ISS -- U.S. businessman Dennis Tito made the
journey last year, followed in April this year by South African
Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth.
Both were reported to have paid up to $20
million -- sums badly needed by the Russian space program to make
up for shortfalls of funds since the collapse of Soviet rule.
The new commander of the ISS, Russia's Valery
Korzun, told reporters last month it made more sense to take on
space tourists like Shuttleworth, whose computer expertise proved
useful to the crew.
Bass is backed by a consortium of companies
put together by a Hollywood producer, but it is not clear how
much it is proposing to pay for the ride.
Interfax news agency said Bass had already
been introduced to senior officials at the cosmonauts' training
center at Star City outside Moscow and started preliminary
training, but officials would not confirm the report.
'N Sync has proved to be one of the world's
top pop groups since 1998, when their debut album of the same
name sold 10 million copies.
*NSYNC Hunk Takes His Own
Star Trek
(Tuesday, June 11, 2002 11:02:40 PM) from
PageSix: "First he rocketed up the charts - now *NSYNC
popster Lance Bass is going to blast into outer space.
Doctors yesterday gave Bass the thumbs-up to
become the first pop star in history to take a flight to the
cosmos.
And at 23, he'll also be the youngest spaceman
ever.
"I'm pretty confident we will be able to
pull this off. I know physically I can do this," a beaming
Bass said in Moscow after getting the OK from Russian physicians.
"We'll have a deal in place within two
weeks."
Bass said he and another would-be space
tourist, former NASA official Lori Garver, spent weeks passing
grueling tests to qualify for the mission, with 48 doctors
certifying their fitness at Russia's premier space medicine
center, the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems.
Garver is likely to fly next April.
Bass hopes to blast off as part of a mission
due to visit the International Space Station in October.
It's now up to the Russian space agency
Rosaviakosmos to give final approval.
Bass, who said it was his lifelong dream to
fly into orbit, would be the third man to pay his way into space
aboard a Russian craft.
Millionaire Dennis Tito became the first space
tourist last year, followed in April by South African Internet
magnate Mark Shuttleworth.
Both were widely reported to have paid $20
million, enough to cover the entire cost of a manned space
launch.
It's not clear how much Bass' backers, a
consortium of companies rounded up by a Hollywood producer, will
pay.
Bass said he's already started boning up on
Russian and added: "I love Russia. I can definitely live
here."
Space Commander Wants Cindy
Crawford, Not Bass
(Tuesday, June 11, 2002 11:06:14 PM) from
Reuters: "Recent file photos of Lance Bass (L), member
of the hugely popular US boy band 'N Sync, and former supermodel
Cindy Crawford. The new commander of the International Space
Station quipped June 8, 2002 that he would rather see supermodel
Cindy Crawford become the next space tourist to visit the station
than boy-band performer Lance Bass. Bass, one-fifth of the
successful boy band *NSYNC, has been negotiating with Russian
authorities for a $20 million ride on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft
when it visits the space station in October.
'N Sync's Bass Gets Thumbs
Up for Space Flight
(Saturday, June 01, 2002 6:08:35 AM) from
Reuters: " Lance Bass, a member of hugely popular U.S.
boy band 'N Sync, said Friday he had won a preliminary go-ahead
from Russian doctors to become the first pop star in space and
the youngest person ever to orbit Earth.
"I'm pretty confident we will be able to
pull this off. I know physically I can do this," a beaming
Bass, 23, told a news conference after a battery of tests at
Russia's Star City.
"We'll have a deal in place within two
weeks," he said, smiling as he crossed his fingers.
But Bass, who hopes to blast off as part of a
mission due to visit the International Space Station in October,
has yet to receive an official approval from the Russian space
agency, Rosaviakosmos.
"I have not had a formal proposal.
That's what we're waiting on," he said. "Nothing is
certain, I think, with any mission, up to a week before it goes
up, before they choose the final crew."
Bass said it was his life-long dream to fly
into orbit.
If successful, he would take the title for
youngest person in space from German Titov, the second Russian
man in space, who blasted off in 1961 at the tender age of 25.
Rosaviakosmos, which has played down Bass's
bid in the past, said there was still a long way to go before the
singer could confirm his flight.
"In order to get a place in the schedule
of preparations for the flight, Lance Bass must take energetic
measures to take forward negotiations with Rosaviakosmos and
provide the necessary legal documents," spokesman Sergei
Gorbunov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
If given the stamp of approval, Bass will be
the third man to pay his way into space aboard a Russian craft.
Millionaire Dennis Tito became the first space tourist last year,
followed in April by South African Internet magnate Mark
Shuttleworth.
Both were widely reported to have paid $20
million, enough to cover the entire cost of a manned space
launch.
It was not clear how much Bass's backers, a
consortium of companies rounded up by a Hollywood producer, would
be paying.
"QUASI-FLUENT"
Bass told reporters he had already begun
learning Russian "through immersion," and insisted he
would dedicate himself to the project in the four months leading
up to the flight.
"By the time I've finished I'll be
quasi-fluent in Russian," said Bass who first visited Moscow
in March. "I love Russia. I can definitely live here."
Asked about how he would spend his time in
space, Bass said he had been impressed by the dedication of
Shuttleworth, who used his time in space to perform research on
AIDS (news - web sites). Bass said he would "definitely be
doing some experiments."
"My main focus is education, physics
studies, that kind of thing," he told reporters.
Bass, the low voice of the five-member 'N
Sync, said the space stint would not interrupt his recording
schedule. The group finished their latest concert tour several
weeks ago.
"It's amazing how perfect the timing was.
We had just finished a tour and we were going to take the rest of
the year off," he said, adding the other members had been
supportive.
The band has proved one of the biggest pop
sensations since 1998 when their debut album "'N Sync"
sold 10 million copies.
Their March 2000 album "No Strings
Attached" was the first in U.S. chart history to sell more
than 2 million copies in its first week of sales.
'N Sync's Lance Bass says he
has Medical Clearance for Flight
(Saturday, June 01, 2002 6:11:07 AM) from AP
World: "MOSCOW - The world's next would-be space
tourist, Lance Bass of boy band 'N Sync, said Friday that leading
Russian space doctors had cleared him for a flight to the
International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket, a journey he
hopes to make this fall between tours.
Bass, 23, shrugged off questions about dangers
of space flight. "I like to be positive, I'm an
optimist," he told a news conference in Moscow. "I know
physically I can do it, I know mentally I can do it."
The Russian Aerospace Agency said earlier this
week that it hadn't yet received commercial proposals from Bass
or his representatives and warned that there is little chance he
can complete the necessary training in time for the next Soyuz
rocket launch in October.
Bass did not comment on financial details of
his bid. The world's second space tourist, South African Mark
Shuttleworth, returned to Earth earlier this month after a
weeklong trip that cost him dlrs 20 million — the same sum
the world's first space tourist, Dennis Tito, paid for a ride
last year.
Bass said Friday he still hopes to go to space
in the fall. He said the October flight would ideally suit his
band's busy schedule, and added that other band members were
"very supportive" of his adventure.
Bass said he and another would-be space
tourist, former NASA official Lori Garver, had spent weeks
passing grueling tests to qualify for the mission with 48 doctors
certifying their fitness at Russia's premier space medicine
center, the Institute for Medical and Biological Problems.
Bass was found to have an irregular heartbeat,
and although it was not necessarily a hindrance to a space
mission, he had it corrected by a medical procedure back in the
United States.
Bass said he had been dreaming about going to
space since childhood and voiced hope that his mission would
serve educational purposes through a documentary he would make in
space.
"We're doing final negotiations right now
with a major network to air this," he said. "It makes
me feel like a great spokesperson for these space programs."
Bass said he loved Russia and was looking
forward to studying Russian — a necessary condition for
landing a seat on a Soyuz. "It's going to be very difficult,
but something I'm looking forward to," he said.
Fort Worth, Texas-based RadioShack Corporation
financed Bass' medical screening and also provided support to
Garver, who hopes to make her own space flight next April.
"I'm more patient," Garver joked,
saying she would be training alongside Bass as his back-up at the
Russian Star City cosmonaut training center outside Moscow while
working to gather financial support for her own mission.
Bass hailed Garver as a great expert and
excellent companion. "She's so brilliant and so dedicated to
this project ... she is like a human encyclopedia when it comes
to space," he said.
Both Bass and Garver are conducting
discussions with additional sponsors and television networks to
expand their financial support beyond RadioShack.
Jeffrey Manber, President of the
Amsterdam-based MirCorp company which is helping Bass and Garver
try to secure their seats on Russian spacecraft, said he was
conducting intensive talks with Russian space officials.
The Interfax news agency quoted Russian
Aerospace Agency spokesman Sergei Gorbunov as saying Friday that
Bass should take "extremely energetic measures" to
quickly wrap up commercial talks and start training. Gorbunov
voiced doubts that the singer would manage to secure a seat on
October's flight in the little time left.
N Sync's Bass Qualified For
Space
(Saturday, June 01, 2002 6:14:07 AM) from E
Online!: "It looks like Lance Bass has the right stuff
to travel into space. But the big question is, will he actually
get to go?
While a Hollywood producer backing the pop
star's bid to become the first entertainer in orbit says Bass has
qualified for the rigorous trip, a spokesman for Russia's space
program says the 23-year-old singer's name isn't even in the
running to climb aboard the next mission, according to wire
reports.
"The Russian Aerospace Agency has had no
contacts whatsoever with Mr. Bass," agency spokesman
Konstantin Kreidenko told the Associated Press. "We have
received no requests from either him or his representatives about
signing any contracts."
On Tuesday, Destiny Productions, the company
that's funding the 'N Syncer's space adventure, confirmed it
received word that he has passed the battery of medical exams
necessary to qualify him for a seat on a Russian Soyuz
spacecraft, scheduled to blast off in October for a resupply
mission to the International Space Station.
"He's in top physical condition, top
mental condition," Destiny president David Krieff told
Reuters. "He's doing great with everything."
Not bad for a guy who just two weeks earlier
underwent a physical procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat
that's been plaguing him since childhood.
After wrapping up his latest trek with his
fellow band members, the 'N Syncer opted for the operation so he
would be able to continue medical and fitness tests at Moscow's
Institute of Biomedical Problems--Russia's top space medicine
facility. Testing included time spent in a pressurized chamber
and a centrifugal force machine.
Krieff said that there may be a special
ceremony next Wednesday "where he'll be even more formally
certified."
Bass is reportedly vying for the highly
coveted spot along with a former NASA official, Lori
Garver--who's also considered a long shot for the next Russian
launch.
Besides the fact that the Russian Aerospace
Agency hasn't decided yet whether it'll even take a space tourist
on its next Soyuz resupply mission, Kreidenko shot down talk that
anyone is even close to scoring a seat.
"Anyone has the right to undergo tests in
the Institute of Biomedical Problems," he said. "But
that doesn't mean that such person is considered to be a
candidate for space flight."
Then there's the complex contract issues and
the $20 million he and his management have to cough up in order
to secure their ticket to ride.
If Bass can say bye, bye, bye to Earth,
he would become the world's third cosmic hitchhiker, just behind
millionaires Dennis Tito and South African Mark Shuttleworth, who
were the first and second space tourists, respectively.
According to Krieff, things couldn't be going
more smoothly for Bass, who's slated to start space-flight
training next Monday at the cosmonaut training center in Russia's
Star City. Training could last up to five or six months.
While that might be bad news for 'N Sync fans
hoping to catch them out on the road this summer, it's good news
for Destiny, which is sponsoring Bass in the hopes of documenting
his experiences for a series of television specials that it hopes
to air on a major U.S. network. Destiny has already produced a
similar space-camp show called The Big Mission in Denmark.
'NSYNC's Lance Bass One Step
Closer To Space: 'I Know I Can Do It'
(Saturday, June 01, 2002 6:29:47 AM) from MTV
News (thanks 'GD'!): "
"Let's just say the doctors know more about me than I know
about me," Lance Bass told reporters convened for a press
conference at Moscow's Savoy Hotel.
For the last four months, the 'NSYNC star has
endured a battery of physical examinations in the pursuit of
becoming the next civilian in space , he announced that he'd
finally passed the medical component of qualifying for a seat on
a Russian rocket mission this fall.
"With such a thorough physical, you're
going to find things that you might need to take care of,"
Bass said, explaining an outpatient procedure he underwent
earlier this month in Boston to correct an irregular heartbeat,
his last obstacle before finishing his centrifuge and pressurized
chamber tests . "Even though that might not cause any
problems in space, we wanted to check it out further, so I had a
procedure, and it totally cured it . ... I was surprised it
worked, because I was getting down, like, 'I'm not going to get
to go.' "
Though getting certified by the state medical
commission was a major hurdle, it doesn't ensure a ticket to
ride. "It's a gamble," Bass said. "I like to be
positive. I'm an optimist, so I'm pretty confident that we will
be able to pull this off. I know physically I can do it, I know
mentally I can do it. We just have to work out the fine little
details."
Some of those little details include
not-so-little matters of funding, since it costs $20 million for
a civilian to join a cosmonaut crew and visit the International
Space Station. But thanks to RadioShack, the first corporate
sponsor to step up to the space plate, Bass has a down payment
for the mission: one-fourth of the total cost. That gains the pop
star entry to start training at Star City near Moscow next week.
"I love Russia," Bass said, "and I definitely can
live here for the rest of this year for this mission. I can't
wait to."
While training, Bass is determined to learn
Russian, at least enough to be considered
"quasi-fluent." He said he plans to start tutoring in a
week. "I can't wait to learn a new language," he said.
"It's going to be difficult, but I'm looking forward to
it."
Training alongside Bass will be his space
tourist rival, Lori Garver, a former NASA official who has since
become Bass' backup should he be unable to go. "The plan is,
I would love to go up in October," Bass said, "and
she'll go up in April," when the next scheduled Russian
rocket would launch. (Soyuz rockets fly every six months to the
ISS.)
"I have learned so much from this lady in
the last two weeks," Bass said of Garver. "We met in
D.C. a month ago and I immediately loved her. She's so brilliant
and is so dedicated to this project. ... She's like a human
encyclopedia when it comes to space. And I definitely wouldn't
have had so much fun without her being right there. We've had
some good times here in Russia."
While the two start training, they need to
finalize their funding issues so that the Russian Space Agency
can consider both of them as candidates. The Russian Space Agency
said earlier this week that it hadn't received proposals from
either Bass or Garver and cautioned that there would be little
chance for either to complete the five months of required
training before the next rocket launch on October 22, and that a
cosmonaut — not a space tourist — would get the seat
instead.
"The Russian Space Agency has released a
few things," Bass said, "and basically, that's because
they're telling the truth. They have not gotten a formal proposal
on it yet. And what can they say when they don't have anything in
their hands? And that's what we're waiting on now. We had to get
all our ducks in a row before we can submit a formal proposal,
which is going out next week, I believe."
Though he doesn't anticipate any problems with
his candidacy, Bass acknowledged that there is no guarantee he'll
get to blast off. "Nothing is certain, I think, with any
mission," Bass said, "up to a week before it goes up,
before they choose the final crew."
Even if Bass were selected, his worries aren't
over. The trip itself isn't without its dangers, and the
insurance polices alone are overwhelming. Bass said that he
remains undaunted and keeps his eye on what he could accomplish,
were he granted the opportunity. Thus far, a camera crew has been
documenting his physical examinations and procedures —
including the one for his irregular heartbeat — for a
proposed documentary/reality show to air on a network that has
yet to be announced. Showing what testing and training entails,
he said, could be educational as well as drum up interest in the
space program.
"Of course, there is danger in anything
you do, and this is a dangerous thing," Bass said. "But
when you're surrounded by so many incredible and brilliant
people, down to the little nitpicky problems that might arise,
they will know what to do. So I put my life in hundreds of
people's hands.
"I'm just excited about it," he
continued. "Of course, I'm nervous about it. I will be very
nervous the day of the launch, but it's more exciting to me. ...
It takes guts to do what everyone here is doing. You feel like a
pioneer in creating something new. I'm glad that we're actually
bringing back interest in the space program. ... It makes me feel
like a great spokesperson for the space program."
To that end, Bass hopes to conduct scientific
experiments aboard the ISS, as did previous space tourist Mark
Shuttleworth in April, so that he can bring something back for
kids to learn about in school. Though he hadn't determined what
his focus would be just yet, he said he's interested in
environmental studies and physics.
"I've learned so much in the last three
weeks here in Russia, things that I never knew existed: the
difference between cosmonauts and astronauts and [between] NASA
the Russian Space Agency," he said, "It's just amazing
[to learn] how far they have gone and how advanced they are. I'm
excited to bring that to television and to the public — the
way Russia works, the way America works and how we're all united
now and finally sharing space together. That's a huge thing to
show."
