What We’re Learning About That Upcoming Russian ‘Movie in Space’

A Russian actor and director are at the moment in coaching because the pair put together to movie scenes aboard the International Space Station later this yr. New particulars are rising concerning the challenge, such because the film’s plot—and the way Russian cosmonauts might be anticipated to participate.

The working title of the movie is Vyzov, which implies “challenge” in English, and if all goes as deliberate, it will likely be the primary film to characteristic scenes shot in area. Klim Shipenko, 37, is directing the movie, and it’ll characteristic Yulia Peresild, a 35-year-old actor chosen from hundreds of contributors who submitted on-line functions for the starring position. The present plan is to have Shipenko and Peresild journey to the ISS in October aboard a Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft.

Shipenko, together with government producer Konstantin Ernst of Channel One Russia, lately participated in a funding pitch, throughout which the crew requested Russian funders for 400 million rubles ($5.4 million), as SpaceNews reports. The movie is being produced by Channel One, Roscosmos, and Yellow, Black and White (a tv movie studio), however apparently extra money is required to maneuver issues ahead.

It was throughout this funding pitch that the crew disclosed a number of new particulars concerning the challenge, together with the plot. As Tony Quine writes at SpaceNews:

Shipenko revealed the script remains to be being fine-tuned, however the plot entails a cosmonaut who suffers a cardiac arrest throughout a spacewalk and, though he survives, he would require surgical procedure to make sure he can deal with the Soyuz return to Earth. A feminine cardiac surgeon, named Zhenya, needs to be despatched to the ISS to carry out the process with just a few weeks to organize for the journey.

Sounds like an actual humdinger. But as Roscosmos admitted final yr, the “movie is aimed to popularize Russia’s space activities” and to additionally “glorify [the] cosmonaut profession.”

Shipenko and Peresild, together with their respective backups, Alexey Dudin and Alena Mordovina, began their training on the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center on May 24, 2021. Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov will command the ISS-66 mission, scheduled to launch in October 2021. Oleg Artemyev is serving as Shkaplerov’s backup. Roscosmos says each Shipenko and Peresild are match and wholesome sufficient for spaceflight. Should the plan to movie a film in area fall to shit, cosmonauts Sergei Korsakov and Dmitry Petelin might be prepared, as they’re listed because the “reserve” crew for the ISS-66 mission. Shkaplerov will keep on the ISS for six months, however the movie crew of two will bail after spending simply 12 days in area.

The coaching program for the movie crew and their backups is a bit completely different than the one supplied to full-blown cosmonauts, nevertheless it appears difficult nonetheless, given its emphasis on security. As Roscosmos explains:

The film crew will get acquainted with the design, on-board methods, tools of the Soyuz MS crewed spacecraft and the Russian section of the International Space Station. They ought to understand how the spacecraft and the station crew actions are organized, examine the emergency actions algorithm (depressurization, hearth, atmospheric toxicity). In addition, the actors and administrators might be ready for doable emergencies that will happen through the touchdown of the ship in several climatic and geographical zones. The trainings are deliberate on the Il-76 MDK airplane laboratory providing short-term weightlessness circumstances to coach the abilities essential for spaceflight. The coaching course of contains biomedical and bodily facets. Before leaving for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the prime and backup crews will participate in complicated examination trainings.

Shipenko is hoping to amass about 35 to 40 minutes of display screen time whereas in area, as he defined through the funding pitch. SpaceNews says these would be the first photographs taken for the film. Once on the bottom, filming will proceed till May 2022, with launch of the movie occurring no sooner than late 2022.

Shipenko stated he’ll function the digicam operator and make-up artist through the space-based movie shoot, along with performing directing duties. Interestingly, cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov—onboard the ISS since this previous April—might be anticipated to behave and seem within the movie. No phrase if crewmembers with NASA, ESA, and JAXA might be requested to affix the celebration.

The challenge shouldn’t be with out issues, nevertheless. In addition to needing extra money, the producers are upset that the Russian media isn’t paying a lot consideration, as Ernst admitted through the funding pitch.

The challenge isn’t getting a lot love from Russian scientists, both, who’re complaining that the film is diverting beneficial assets usually used for area exploration and scientific analysis. It obtained so dangerous that Roscosmos removed Sergei Krikalev, director of crewed applications at Roscosmos, from his senior administration place in June after he expressed his opposition to the challenge. Krikalev, who accrued greater than 800 hours in area throughout his illustrious profession as a cosmonaut, was ultimately reinstated following complaints from Russian media and lots of of his friends, together with different cosmonauts.

An attention-grabbing facet impact of this pending mission is that Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei must spend a complete yr on the ISS. The males are at the moment aboard the area station, and each have been speculated to spend six months in area, however they’ll have to surrender their return seats to the Russian movie crew. So yeah, trains don’t depart ISS station fairly often, ensuing within the prolonged keep.