On Tuesday, Russia launched a film crew into space to shoot a feature film. This marks a step for Russian space forces, as civilian actors and a film director are set to land at the International Space Station to shoot the movie. Actor Tom Cruise, alongside NASA, has been planning to make a film at the space station as well. Yulia Peresild, a 37-year-old actress, is set to star in the film. Klim Shipenko will direct the unique and groundbreaking movie. The spacecraft, called the Soyuz MS-19, took off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan and reached the ISS three hours later.
The launch was led by cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and went according to plan, according to Russian authorities. Upon docking at the ISS, however, there were a few difficulties when automatic docking was unsuccessful and the commander switched to manual control. The director and actress have just 12 days to film the space scenes. The mission has proved contentious in Russia’s space industry, with some stating that the ISS is not a place for performers or tourists. Another cosmonaut spoke out against the filming, stating that the ISS is a place in which important professional work takes place and the filming may prove to be disruptive.
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