Lance Bass Brings Space Training Home

By Stephen M. Silverman

08/27/2002 at 12:00 PM EDT

After months of training at Russia's Star City outside Moscow, 'N Sync singer and wannabe astronaut Lance Bass has come home to America to continue his training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, in preparation for his proposed Oct. 28 blast-off into space. The Associated Press reports that Bass's arrival at the facility over the weekend came as negotiations continued for the 23-year-old pop star to take the reported $20 million trip. Hollywood producer David Krieff, who is rounding up financial backers for Bass (whose adventures would be shot for a TV special), insisted all last week that a check would be forthcoming. So far, there has been no confirmation from the Russians regarding payment. Meanwhile, Bass has begun a full week of training in Houston along with the rest of his crew, a Russian and a Belgian. Johnson Space Center official John Ira Petty tells the AP there were no groupies waiting to greet Bass, despite news of his arrival having leaked out. Bass and his two colleagues are due to take off on their eight-day mission from Kazakhstan on Oct. 28 in a Russian Soyuz capsule bound for the International Space Station. "Space flight can be very unforgiving if there's a mistake that's made, and those are the kinds of things that we'll make sure that all three crew members are trained for," said flight director John Curry.