Singer aims to be first pop star in space

(31 May 2002) 1. presser opening 2. journalists 3. Lance Bass and Lori Garver 4. photographers 5. SOUNDBITE (English) Lance Bass, singer of 'N SYNC "I am definitely ready to dedicate all my time for it, you know. I am going to work extra hard. I think, I can take it. I am excited for the challenge, but in going back to your first question, I think the Russian Space Agency has a list of few things and it is basically bacause thy are telling the truth. You know that they have not got a formal proposal from us yet and what can they say when they don't have anything in hands? That's what we are waiting on now. We had to get every one of our ducks in roll before we submit a proposal which is going out this week, I believe." 6. Astronaut training on centrifuge at the Institute of Medico-Biological Problems 7. Face of Bass on monitor 8. Medical data 9. Bass in centrifuge's cabin 10. Bass describing his sense 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Manber, President of Mir-Corporation "We have interesting discussions today with the appropriate organisations and we will be working with them next week and we are again very grateful, we know the time period is short." 12. Lance Brass and Lori Garver 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Jeffrey Manber "Appropriate Russian organisations understand and they are very appreciative that Lance and Lori are interested and so we hope to come to some sort of conslusion very quickly." 14. press 15. SOUNDBITE (English) Lance Bass "I do want to say that nothing is certain until, I know, with any mission a week before you will go up, I mean as they will choose the primary crew. So, every hour changes, please bear with us when we don't know any information from time to time." 16. Future astronauts on podium BASS IN SPACE The world's next would-be space tourist could well be Lance Bass of boy band 'N Sync. He told reporters on Friday that leading Russian space doctors had cleared him for a flight to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket. He hopes to make the journey this autum - between tours. The 23-year-old shrugged off questions about dangers of space flight at the news conference in Moscow, saying he knew he could do it. The Russian Aerospace Agency said earlier this week that it hadn't yet received commercial proposals from Bass or his representatives. It warned that there was little chance he could 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. His weeklong trip cost him 20 (M) million US dollars - the same sum the world's first space tourist, Dennis Tito, paid for a ride last year. Bass said he still hoped to go to space in the autumn because the October flight would ideally suit his band's busy schedule. He also added that other band members were "very supportive" of his adventure. Bass and another would-be space tourist, former NASA official Lori Garver, spent weeks passing grueling tests to qualify for the mission. Some 48 doctors certified their fitness at Russia's premier space medicine centre, 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 US. It was Bass' dream since childhood to go into space and he is hoping that his mission would serve educational purposes through a documentary he would make in space. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...