SPACE.com -- Russia Says It's Officially Over: Lance Bass Will Not Fly

Seated at a simulated ISS workstation, potential Soyuz 5 crewmember Lance Bass undergoes training at the Johnson Space Center for a planned October 2002 spaceflight. Behind Bass are Ginger Kerrick of JSC's International Training group and Herve Stevenin of the European Space Agency.

The Soyuz 5 taxi crew from left: Lance Bass, Sergei Zalyotin and Frank De Winne.

Carolynn Conley gives HAM radio instructions to potential Soyuz 5 crewmember Lance Bass during an August training visit to the Johnson Space Center.

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	Russia Says It's Officially Over: Lance Bass Will Not Fly By Associated Press posted: 08:00 am ET 03 September 2002

MOSCOW -- 'N Sync singer Lance Bass has been asked to leave Russia's cosmonaut training program and will not be the world's third space tourist, a Russian space official said today.

Sergei Gorbunov, spokesman for the Russian Space Agency, said the decision to end negotiations with Bass was made in connection with "crude violations" of his contract.

Gorbunov said Bass, who had hoped to fly to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on Oct. 28, would be leaving Russia's Star City within the next few hours.

"It's over," Gorbunov said.

The U.S. pop star had been granted numerous deadline extensions after failing to come up with the $20 million needed to secure his seat. Bass' supporters have blamed paperwork problems for the delay.

Bass began training in July at Star City, and just returned to Russia on Sunday after spending a week at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston with the other two crew members.

Jeff Manber, president of MirCorp, which had been working on behalf of Bass, continued to express optimism Tuesday that the mission would go ahead.

"It is a little dramatic to say he was kicked out," said Manber, who added that he was headed into another meeting with Russian space officials to discuss the payment details.

"He was training at Star City yesterday. He is not training today, but he will be back there probably tomorrow or the day after."

Gorbunov said that in place of Bass, the Russians would likely send up a cargo container with extra equipment needed on the International Space Station. Gorbunov said the container has already been prepared and is ready to go.

Bass, 23, would have been the youngest person yet in space. Last year, California businessman Dennis Tito became the first space tourist despite opposition from NASA, which at the time opposed sending nonprofessionals to space. South African Internet tycoon Mark Shuttleworth made the trip this spring. Unlike Bass, those two did not rely on corporate sponsors to pay for the trip.