Lance Bass was kicked off a Russian spaceflight two decades ago—now he’s back

At the height of his fame as a member of the internationally renowned boy band NSYNC, Lance Bass went to space in less than two weeks after going into space in 2002.

During the spring and summer of that year, Bass underwent four months of rigorous training at StarCity, Russia, learning the Russian language and passing some difficult pre-launch tests. The plan was to fly on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with two cosmonauts to the International Space Station and spend about 10 days in orbit.

It hasn’t been a well-trodden road, especially for a 23-year-old musician who is the youngest to go into space. By mid-2002, only Dennis Tito and his two wealthy businessmen, Mark Shuttleworth, had personally paid to travel to space.

Bass couldn’t finance the trip alone, so he partnered with a Hollywood filmmaker. While Bass was in training, the Hollywood production team tried to raise about $20 million in publicity money to cover the cost of the trip. Ultimately, this will be the undoing of the adventure.

where’s the money

“There have been a lot of problems with Russia and Hollywood trying to make this happen,” Bass said in a recent interview with Ars. I put a gun to his head and said, ‘Where’s the money? Where’s the money?'”

I didn’t know about the bus. The international superstar just wanted to go to space, studied hard, underwent countless medical tests, and did everything in his power to reach his goal. When a heartbeat was shown, Bass underwent surgery to correct it.

After final funding talks broke down in September, it was said that the bus would not go to space. The call came days before he was scheduled to fly to a launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan for his final preparations.

“It was overwhelming,” Bass said. “Especially how many hours I spent doing something I was passionate about. I didn’t know what was going on when I was in the ‘outside world’. There was a single phone line nobody called me. There was no internet. bottom.

Bass fell in love with space as a child, at the age of 9, when his parents drove the family from Mississippi to see the Space Shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center. He thought he would become an engineer, and that was his plan until 1995, when he was 16.

“Justin Timberlake called me and gave me an offer I couldn’t turn down,” Bass said. “I wasn’t in college yet. I was in my senior year of high school, preparing to go on to science and math. But one day, Justin called me and said, ‘Hey, do this band together.’ I need a bass singer, would you like to move to Orlando and sing with me? I loved entertainment at the time, so the whole plan changed.”

Since its failed space attempt, Bass has maintained its involvement in the space industry. For example, he is a member of the board of directors of the National Space Association. And he still hopes to go to space one day, but not in a matter of minutes.Virgin He’s a “roller coaster ride” while he’s on an Orbit or Blue Origin spaceship, but a bus He wants to conduct scientific experiments in orbit. So if there is a medical company out there that needs astronauts to work in low earth orbit, say Bus is ready.

the last soviet

But this month, Bass has firmly set the flag on the space community by releasing a new podcast. Last Soviet. Bass hosts an eight-part podcast that brings to life the experiences of cosmonaut Sergei Krikarev, who was in space when the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991. Ground controllers were able to allow the facility to continue flying despite the chaos on the ground.

Krikalev is perhaps the most interesting Russian cosmonaut aside from his hero Yuri Gagarin. Krikalev, now 64, spent more than 800 days in space, was one of the first Russians to fly on the Space Shuttle, and was also a member of the first expedition to the International Space Station. Today, Krikalev is more relevant than ever, leading Russia’s human spaceflight program and providing a vital and trusted link between NASA and the Russian space program.

At the time of our interview with Bass, only the first episode of the podcast had been released. It largely covers Gagarin’s experiences while setting the stage for Krikalev’s extraordinary mission during the collapse of the Soviet Union. I thought it was great and would love to hear the rest of the episodes.

If there is one disappointment, it is that Krikalev is not on board. Bass said a series of interviews were arranged last year but canceled after Russia invaded Ukraine.

“It’s a big disappointment,” said Bass. “He was ready to do this podcast, so I wanted to hear directly from him. Of course, we have all his colleagues and friends. would have been really fun.”