NASA Gives Pop Star Green Light

'NSYNC singer Lass Bass won the endorsement of NASA and other space agencies Tuesday in his bid to fly to the international space station this fall.

The 23-year-old boy-band member got the news while training at Johnson Space Center in Houston. All that remains in his way is a financial agreement with the Russian space program; both sides have been haggling over the deal for months.

In July, the Russian Space Agency submitted Bass' name for one of three seats on a rocket scheduled to blast off from Kazakhstan on Oct. 28. A panel representing NASA and the space agencies of Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada signed off Tuesday on Bass' participation after weeks of telephone conferences to discuss his background and qualifications.

"They've agreed that Mr. Bass meets the criteria and is suitable as a crew member," said NASA spokeswoman Debra Rahn.

The recommendation has been forwarded to a board of high-ranking space agency officials who will review Bass' candidacy and issue a final ruling in September, Rahn said.

However, Konstantin Kreidenko, spokesman for the Russian space agency Rosaviakosmos, said Friday that if the money did not arrive within the next few days, Bass would not be permitted to continue training for the Russian flight to the international space station. Such a trip costs about $20 million.

Another Rosaviakosmos spokesman, Sergei Gorbunov, also said that if Bass does not make he trip to the space station, a cargo container weighing the same as the singer will be sent in his place.

Bass would be the third tourist to travel to the station and the youngest person yet in space.