*N SYNC member LANCE BASS has begun a rigorous set of tests in preparation for his trip into space - despite having no guarantee he will be allowed to make the journey.
He started initial training at cosmonaut school in Star City near Moscow on July 4. He will cram six months pre-flight preparations into four months. The Soyuz rocket is due to blast off on October 22, though Bass is still not guaranteed his seat. Funding for him has yet to be resolved and no contracts have been signed.
Regardless, he has been thrown into the testing training regime. He began with zero-gravity work last week, MTV reports. In the coming weeks, he will be dropped into the Black Sea and be left to fend for himself in a forest without food or supplies. He must undergo survival training for different climatic and geographical areas, in case the capsule doesn't land according to plan upon re-entry and the cosmonauts are forced to wait for a rescue team to arrive.
The boyband star must also learn Russian, space flight theory, spacecraft flight control systems and standard operations of the International Space Station. He'll also take in the entire launch, flight and re-entry procedure in a full-size Soyuz simulator.
Bandmate Joey Fatone believes his friend will see the thing through. "We'll see what happens," he said. "People are always going, 'Oh, he's just going to go up in space and mess around' and stuff. But he actually wants to do a lot of different experiments as well as stand around going, 'Look, I'm in space,' so that's pretty good."
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