Russia to send actor and director to ISS for first movie in space as Tom Cruise sets sights on October take-off

Pre-flight training for actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko is due to begin in June

Russia’s space agency will be sending an actor and a director to the International Space Station with the aim of shooting the first feature film in space. 

As reported by The Guardian, actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko will be embarking on the history-making journey on 5 October.

“Filming will take place at the International Space Station. The start of the expedition is scheduled for 5 October 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome on the Soyuz MS-19 manned transport spacecraft,” Rocsomos – the state corporation of the Russian Federation responsible for space activities – said in a statement.

Rocsomos revealed that the “space drama” has the working title Challenge. However, no details surrounding its plot have been given.

Persild, 36, and Shipenko, 37, are due to begin training for their space expedition no later than 1 June.

Their pre-flight training – including centrifuge tests and flights in zero gravity – will be documented by one of Russian’s main TV channels, Channel One, who will also be producing the film.

Rocsomos said in September, as per The Guardian, that the forthcoming film aims to “popularise Russia’s space activities, as well as glorify cosmonaut profession”.

Last year, it was reported that Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman would be flying to space to film scenes for a currently unnamed movie.

As reported by Space Shuttle Almanac, Cruise and Liman will travel to the ISS in the Axiom Space Crew Dragon capsule – owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company – in October this year.