"It's been an amazing, amazing experience. We have been training our butts off," Bass said at a NASA press conference that featured the Soyuz 5 crew, as well as the space agency's chief astronaut Charlie Precourt.

The training is proceeding although the business side of the $20 million deal that would allow Bass to make the trip into space and be featured in a multi-part documentary has yet to be finalized.

Bass said that such details about program sponsors, payment schedules to the Russians and other matters were being handled by a large support team. This allowed him to concentrate on learning Soyuz systems, plan his timeline and keep learning more of the Russian language.

And even though it's a small probability, if events unfolded that prevented Bass from flying this fall, he said he would do everything he could to secure a seat on a future Soyuz taxi mission.

A graduate of U.S. Space Camp in Florida, Bass will become the first alumni of that program to reach space. Bass said that when he is strapped atop the Soyuz launch vehicle in Kazakhstan on Oct. 28, he would be excited but not afraid.

"I have no doubt in my mind that it's going to be a successful mission and I have no fear whatsoever," he said.

Asked directly about the possibility of disaster at the launch site, and what that would mean to his many young fans, Bass had an awkward moment, responding "of course we think about that."

"But I think that, yeah, I will be very nervous on that day. I don't think anybody is not nervous. I think it's more of an excitement. I'm not scared at all to go on the Soyuz," Bass said.

Meanwhile, Bass' commander has no qualms about the 23-year-old flying. Zalyotin admitted to being somewhat "skeptical" upon first hearing of the singer's addition to his crew.

"But when I looked at how Lance was training, his training flow and how he was doing things, I understood we would be able to get him to do what he needs to do," the veteran commander said. He added that Bass did well during a recent launch dress rehearsal in which the crew wore their spacesuits and simulated a liftoff.

"I can tell you I was very pleased with the performance of all crew members. Lance will bring a lot to our crew and to our mission," Zalyotin said.

That mission is to take a fresh spacecraft up to the ISS to replace the Soyuz that has been docked there since April. The Soyuz serve as emergency lifeboats for the crew living aboard the space station. Such a swap is supposed to take place every six months and the mission itself only requires two crewmembers.

However, with a three-seat spacecraft the Russian space agency has sold the third Soyuz seat to space tourists, including American businessman Dennis Tito and South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth -- both of whom have completed their flights to the outpost.

Bass' presence on the crew was given an initial approval by NASA and the other international partners that make up the space station program. However, a more senior board must still give the nod to Bass after they meet some time in September and decide if Bass is fully prepared for the flight.

Having studied "tons and tons," Bass said he isn't concerned about it. "If it comes down to it, if I'm not ready to go, I don't go. I don't see that happening."

If he does fly, Bass plans to dedicate his flight to education and do everything he can during and after the mission to make sure children pursue and value their education. He will promote staying in school and work hard, especially on subjects such as math and science.

"I get letters from kids around the world saying how this has inspired them to study more science, to study more math. They had no idea about space exploration, they'd never studied it in school," Bass said. "But now, because of someone like me, it has made them focus on that. So yes, if I just inspire that one person it's definitely worth it."