Russian Film Crew To Shoot a Film Launching On a Soyuz Spacecraft

A Russian film crew is about to attempt a bizarre shooting of a film that can even give tough challenge to Action King Tom Cruise. The film crew is set to launch on a Soyuz spacecraft to film a sequence on the International Space Station (ISS).

On Tuesday at 2.25 pm Indian Standard Time, the Russian space agency Roscosmos will blast off a cosmonaut, a film director and an actor on its Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

A veteran of three long-duration spaceflights will steer the Soyuz towards the Space Station Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, joined by film director Klim Shipenko and actress Yulia Peresild. While Shkaplerov will remain at the flying outpost for 174 days, the actor-director duo will remain onboard for 12 days filming a sequence for the film.

Roscomos said in a statement, "The spacecraft is to dock with the Russian segment of the ISS two orbits after the launch. The ISS-66 crew flight is to last 174 days, while the spaceflight participants will stay at the ISS at least for 12 days."

The actor-director will film a sequence for an upcoming film titled 'The Challenge', which, according to reports, follows a doctor who flies to the ISS on short notice to give life-saving care to a cosmonaut. The crew will film a 35-40 minute long sequence on the ISS.

The New York Times reported that Peresild conceded she will face limitations filming in space. She will do her own makeup, for example, and work without lighting or sound crews. Meanwhile, Shipenko said that his aim was to bring to life the experience of space through the eyes of an ordinary person, the doctor character played by Peresild.

The website of the film said, "The project will become a clear evidence that space flights are gradually becoming available not only for professionals but also for an ever wider range of interested persons."

The move will make Russia the first country to film beyond Earth's orbit with Nasa and Tom Cruise playing catch up. The Russian space agency moved up the mission after officials were concerned over Nasa stealing their moment.

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