NASA DISSES 'AMAZING' DEAL
By DON KAPLAN
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"Racers" trained like astronauts for the competition.
July 14, 2005 -- OFFICIALS at cash-strapped NASA refused to sign $10 million confidentiality agreements with CBS' "Amazing Race" when the show passed through one of its facilities in the deep South earlier this week.
A fleet of SUVs driven by contestants in the eighth installment of "Race" rumbled through the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., Monday night.
There, the racers were pitted against each other in challenges that utilized several of the astronaut-training devices, including a centrifuge that simulates the intense pressure of extra gravity during a rocket launch, according to an Alabama newspaper report.
But officials at the space center refused to sign the standard confidentiality agreements — and were tight-lipped yesterday about details of what took place when the show touched down in their neighborhood.
Earlier, the "Amazing" racers had arrived at the Huntsville-Madison County convention center on two buses and jumped into the SUVs, group by group.
All of them were drenched by the remnants of Hurricane Dennis and spent the night in a local Marriott.
"Race" reportedly started filming last Thursday with 11 teams. By the time the race reached the Alabama town — whose inhabitants work mostly for the military or NASA — one team had already been eliminated.
According to the CBS Web site, the latest edition of "Race" is a family-oriented contest, with each team made up of four members instead of the usual two.
Teams include traditional families (mom, dad, kids), blended families (newly married with step-kids), four sisters, four brothers, multigenerational (grandparents with grandkids) and engaged couples and their in-laws-to-be.
"Race" is one of the highest rated and most critically acclaimed reality series of all time.
It's snared two Emmys since the awards show began featuring the reality genre as a separate category two years ago.
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/25904.htm