Posted: Mon, Jun 14, 2004, 12:50 PM ET (1650 GMT)
Several producers of "reality TV" shows in the US are looking into the possibility of producing similar shows that could involve sending people into space, The Hollywood Reporter newspaper reported Monday. The article identified three producers, including Mark Burnett, who are looking into the possibility of developing shows that would involve selecting a group of people to undergo training for the spaceflight, with the possibility that the winner of the competition would fly into space as a tourist on a Soyuz taxi flight to the International Space Station. Several years ago Burnett pursued a similar concept called "Destination Mir" that collapsed when Russia deorbited the Mir space station in early 2001. One of the other producers named in the article, Phil Gurin, was involved in trying to arrange for Lance Bass to fly to the ISS in 2002, a deal that fell through because of a lack of financing.

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•  Hollywood Reporter article