Russian Actress Heads to International Space Station to Shoot First Film in Space

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian actress Yulia Peresild, 36, has been selected to star in the first movie to be filmed on the International Space Station (ISS), state space agency Roscosmos announced on Thursday.

In November 2020, the Russian space agency and the national Channel One broadcaster launched an open competition for participation in the first feature film in space known by the working title “Challenge.” In March, the competition shortlisted 20 finalists, who were subjected to pass medical review.

The expedition is scheduled to launch on October 5 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, located in southern Kazakhstan, when the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft will fly the crew to the ISS.

Starting June 1, all the candidates will undergo special training, including “centrifuge tests, vibration stand tests … flights on a zero-gravity plane,” as well as parachute training.

“We are proud that Roscosmos invited us to do this, and we will not let our colleagues down,” Konstantin Ernst, General Director of Channel One, said.

Roscosmos also added that Russian pilot Galina Kairova, 26, who also applied for the role in a film but was not selected, “was invited to continue the selection process for the cosmonaut corps on a professional basis.”

The plot of the film will revolve around a young female surgeon flying to the ISS, who will have to perform an operation on a sick cosmonaut whose medical condition does not allow him to return to Earth, a source told Sputnik.

The movie is a part of a massive educational and scientific project, which also aims to film some documentaries about specialists manufacturing rockets and other space vehicles, as well as rocket and space industries companies, according to Roscosmos.

Sourse: sputniknews.com