Дата: 28 августа 2002 (2002-08-28)
От: Klim Arbuzov
Тема: Subj :
Abhorrence.
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NASA Welcomes Its First Celebrity Space Tourist: *N SYNC Singer Lance Bass
By Marcia Dunn
Associated Press
posted: 10:00 am ET
29 August 2002
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AP) _ NASA welcomed its first celebrity space tourist
on Monday: 'N Sync singer Lance Bass, who hopes to clinch a deal with the
Russians soon and fly to the international space station in two months.
The 23-year-old boy-band member began a full week of training at Johnson Space
Center in Houston along with the rest of his crew, a Russian and a Belgian. All
three flew in from Moscow over the weekend after training at the cosmonaut base
in Star City, Russia.
The space center's public affairs office fielded numerous calls about Bass'
presence, but it was not excessive and no boy band fans were reported outside
the center gates, said spokesman John Ira Petty.
NASA agreed to teach Bass about the basics of space flight _ and the
particulars of the U.S. side of the space station _ even though his trip is
still up in the air because of contract issues with the Russians.
The three men are supposed to blast off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 28 in a Russian
Soyuz capsule that will remain at the space station and serve as a fresh
lifeboat. But Bass has yet to come to financial terms with the Russian Space
Agency despite months of wrangling, and he's yet to be endorsed by a panel of
space station representatives.
Without the required week of space station training at Johnson, Bass would have
been grounded, no matter what. So as a favor to the Russians, NASA agreed to
put him through safety briefings and simulator classes so he would be ready to
take off if his contract is signed.
He would be the youngest person ever in space.
``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. ``Make sure that they know
the hazards, what valves not to touch, dangers that you can do to your eyes if
you're looking out the window.''
Bass is only the second space tourist to train at NASA.
South African Internet tycoon Mark Shuttleworth put in his obligatory week at
Johnson in January and spent a quiet week at the space station three months
later. But the first paying space tourist, California businessman Dennis Tito,
was barred from taking part in NASA training with his Russian crew in March
2001.
Caught off guard by the advent of space tourism, NASA insisted on an extra
month or two of training for Tito, a former rocket scientist, and asked him to
wait until later in the year. He flew to the space station anyway, in April
2001.
Both Tito and Shuttleworth paid out of their own pockets for the one- to 1
1/2-week cruise. Russia's asking price is dlrs 20 million.
Bass is rounding up corporate sponsors, and that's why his negotiations with
the Russians are dragging. Almost every week, Russian space officials have
insisted that the check is due by the end of the week.
Because of the uncertainty over his flight, Bass spent less time training in
Russia than his predecessors did. But NASA officials say a few months of
training are enough for him to get by.
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Hачинается, блин. В космос полетят отстои.
Nunc est bibendum. Undead.
* Crossposted in RU.SPACE
* Crossposted in RU.SPACE.NEWS
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