Russian actress Yulia Peresild has arrived on the International Space Station after a three hour flight from Earth, beating Tom Cruise to ...
Russian actress Yulia Peresild has arrived on the International Space Station after a three hour flight from Earth, beating Tom Cruise to be the first actor to film a movie in space.
The 37-year-old is joined by director Klim Shipenko on the station, after both went through months of training, including centrifuge and zero gravity flight tests.
The pair launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Soyuz MS-19 crew capsule at 09:55 BST (04:55 ET) with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, docking with the space station just over three hours later at 13:22 BST.
The automated systems guided them in to about 80ft from the ISS, but issues with data feeds forced Commander Shkaplerov to take over, and dock manually.
Astronauts and cosmonauts all train for every contingency, including the requirement to take over manual operations if automated systems fail.
Ground control watched on as Shkaplerov slowly and carefully edged closer to the station, a foot at a time to ensure he was lined up perfectly with the docking port.
Docking was finally confirmed at 13:22 BST, when the docking probe was retracted, making way for the crew to enter their new orbital home after a short wait for pressure in the capsule to match that of the space station.
'We had beautiful sunsets and sunrises, it was a breathtaking view,' the crew said while waiting to go on to the station after docking.
This was the first Soyuz launch to the International Station to only include Russian nationals, and the first without a NASA astronaut since September 2015.
Shipenko and Peresild will spend 12 days in space, filming the movie that will also include the Roscosmos cosmonauts on the station as extras.
The film tells the story of a doctor who has never had involvement with the space program before, but travels to the ISS to save the life of a cosmonaut.
Tom Cruise is rumoured to be flying to the ISS in 2022, as part of a $200 million project supported by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX and NASA.
Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (C), along with film director Klim Shipenko (R) and actress Yulia Peresild (L) pose for a photo ahead of the launch of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft
Roscosmos shared photos of the spaceship as it slowly approached the space station
Russian actress Yulia Peresild has successfully launched for the International Space Station this morning, beating Tom Cruise to be the first actor to film a movie in space
Russian actress Yulia Peresild launched for the International Space Station this morning, beating Tom Cruise to be the first actor to film a movie in space
Actress Yulia Peresild, left, director Klim Shipenko right, and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (centre) are the members of the prime crew of Soyuz MS-19 spaceship
Solar panels and antenna on the Soyuz capsule deployed at just after 10:00 BST, putting the vehicle into 'normal function' for the trip to the ISS
The trio were cleared as medically fit to fly last week, as were the backup crew of cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, director Alexey Dudin and actor Alena Mordovina.
Speaking ahead of the launch, Ms Peresild said: 'It is a bit too late to be afraid because we've come so farand to be honest, there is just no time left for fear.'
Director Klim Shipenko, who will also act in the movie during his fortnight living and working on the orbital platform, previously described the movie as 'an experiment,' adding there is 'nobody to get advice from.'
'There is not a single cameraman who could answer how to work with light from a porthole,' he said, of the issues filming in such an unusual environment.
It has been provisionally titled Challenge, and is a joint production between Roscosos and Russia's Channel One - which is also producing a documentary on the crew's training and preparations for launch.
Commander Anton Shkaplerov, who will remain on the station until Spring 2022, will be playing the role of a cosmonaut who helps the character of Yulia Peresild, who is playing the adventurous doctor, save the cosmonaut who needs help
'I won't be starring in it but still I will need to figure out how a movie is produced in such an unusual place as outer space,' Shkaplerov said.
Challenge is co-produced by Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's space agency, with the active involvement of Russian cosmonauts on the station.
Cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov, who are already on the space station, will also assist in the 'rescue' operation and appear in the movie.
Shipenko and Peresild will spend 12 days in space, filming the movie that will also include the Roscosmos cosmonauts on the station as extras
The crew spent 2.5 hours waiting on the launch pad ahead of their journey into space at around 09:55 BST (04:55 ET)
It will take about three hours and 17 minutes for the spaceship to reach the ISS, and 12 days later Shipenko and Peresild will return to Earth to film the rest of the movie
Peresild and crew are travellng to the ISS six decades after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth
Actress Yulia Peresild, left, director Klim Shipenko' right, will spend 12 days filming on the station, but cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (centre) will be there for six months
The actress (left) and director (right) will launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Soyuz MS-19 crew capsule at 09:55 BST (04:55 ET) with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (centre)
Shipenko and Peresild will have to manage everything themselves, including camera work, lighting, make up and production efforts while filming on the ISS.
Shipenko said of the effort: 'Some things will work out and some things will not'.
'It will not be on the same level as on Earth, but we will do our best. We are ready for it,' said Peresild.
They will launch on a Soyuz-2.1a rocket, already installed on the launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome for the Soyuz MS-19 Mission
They are launching as part of ISS Expedition 66, with main crew member, actress Yulia Peresild, playing the part of a doctor in a new movie called Challenge
Crew member and film director Klim Shipenko will act in the movie, work on make up and produce the scenes in space
Crew member and cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov won't be starring in the movie, but will play an active part and be seen in some scenes
Shipenko, who is 6 feet 2 inches tall, said his height makes training inside the spacecraft - and the upcoming trip - 'not very comfortable'.
But accommodations will be made in the future, he said, adding: 'It is okay. I will fly now as it is, but when we do the sequel about travel to Mars, then they promise there will be a better seat.'
Peresild is a stage and film actress who briefly studied philology in the city of Pskov before moving to Moscow to pursue acting.
She made her screen debut in the TV series Land in 2003 and had her breakthrough in 2010 with a supporting role in The Edge, a film directed by Aleksei Uchitel, with whom Peresild has two daughters.
Tom Cruise is rumoured to be flying to the ISS in 2022, as part of a $200 million project supported by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX and NASA
Shipenko (right), who is 6 feet 2 inches tall, said his height makes training inside the spacecraft - and the upcoming trip - 'not very comfortable'
The announcement of the Russian film amounts to a space movie race with the West, competing against a project by NASA, Elon Musk and Tom Cruise, which will also be shot at the ISS (pictured) in October
In 2015, Peresild played the real-life Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko in the biographical war film Battle for Sevastopol.
Last year, NASA and SpaceX confirmed that they will be teaming up with Tom Cruise to make a Hollywood movie on the ISS.
He was originally due to travel to the station this month, but that has been postponed until sometime in 2022.
When he does launch, Cruise will travel in a SpaceX Crew Dragon ship, similar to the one that put the first all civilian, Inspiration4 crew into Earth orbit for three days.
Very little is know about the US film other than the fact Cruise will front it, with director Doug Liman joining him on the ISS to film the space-based scenes.
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