Russian Movie in Space Part 5

 

Russian actresses who will compete for trip to ISS identified

Twenty women who applied for the lead role in first movie to be shot in Space are currently going through the medical and physical tests, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre

In November last year, we brought our first update on the emerging Russian ‘Movie in Space’ project, with the working title ‘The Challenge’. This would involve sending an actress to the International Space Station, onboard a scheduled Soyuz flight, in late 2021. All the background and details of the key organisations involved can be found here, so we will not repeat all of that content, rather we will pick up the story, as it is now unfolding.

It is fair to say that the project met with a degree of resistance and opposition, from the Russian scientific and aerospace communities, with criticism for putting art before science, depriving trained cosmonauts of their flights, and as an inappropriate use of Federal funds. Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov spoke of ‘over my dead body’! It is rumoured that the project was taken to Vladimir Putin, for endorsement, to overcome such resistance, and that Putin gave it the green light.

The original plan was that thirty, or so, woman would be selected, and they would then compete in a Reality TV style contest, between January and April, to find the two winners. However, these plans seem to have been scrapped, and for many weeks, little information emerged, other than a statement that around 3000 applications had been received. This number is around six times the number of applications received for the last conventional call for cosmonaut applications, in 2019!

In early March, First Channel, the TV company behind the project, and Roscosmos announced that the project was proceeding, and a shortlist of twenty actresses to potentially play the lead role, and her understudy, had been drawn up. It was also announced that the film’s director, Klim Shipenko, would also travel to the International Space Station, to oversee the filming the scenes to be shot in space.

Several well-known Russian actresses appeared in a promotional video, and were presented as being among the twenty finalists, whilst others commented on Social Media. These included Olga Kuzmina, Svetlana Ivanova, Maria Valeshnaya, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Marina Kazankova and Svetlana Mironenko. Others were featured in a short video about the audition and selection process. But, there is no published list, from the producers, or Roscosmos, at this stage.

However, at the Space Sleuthing Blog, we present our ‘unofficial’ list, drawn from these sources and others. 

We don't assert that this list is 100% accurate, but we do estimate that twelve or so, of these names are solid, and two or three are more speculative. It is worth remembering, that whoever is chosen will be only the fifth Russian or Soviet woman in space!

The process of putting these twenty through the daunting and demanding cosmonaut selection process began March, but not all candidates have yet started. Shipenko has said that they plan to reveal the lead and understudy, or prime and back-up, in early April. However, this looks ambitious. Shipenko has also said that he has only partly completed the medical test to secure his own seat, as the process typically take around a month, so the April date for the actress, may not be met.

An interesting aspect of the selection process, is that the producers have chosen several women who are not professional actresses. They have passed the artistic auditions, but come from different backgrounds, connected to aviation, aerospace, or extreme sports. There is a pilot, a parachutist, a psychologist and an aerospace doctor, and probably a couple more. These are people who have the professional or technical background to enter a regular cosmonaut selection process. They have been chosen for a reason.

The producers always said that ‘ordinary’ women could apply, and that a small number would be taken to the final stage. But this sub-group are not ‘ordinary’ women. Analysing the situation, it would appear that this sub-group are included as something of an insurance policy. If the medical and physical selection process removes too many of the actresses, perhaps this group are seen as more likely candidates to make it through, due to their different backgrounds, and existing skills, experience and knowledge.

Indeed, maybe a tentative plan exists that one of this group will, at least, be the back-up? The selection will only be the beginning. If a professional actress is cast in the main role, and therefore the prime Soyuz crew, there will still be many tough and daunting challenges ahead. Having a back-up with a different professional background, different skills, a different temperament, but also acting ability, would make a lot of sense.

Once the selection process has been completed, the actress and Shipenko will be assigned to the crew of Soyuz MS-19, which will be commanded by experienced cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. It is due to launch on 5^th October, so time is tight. This flight will now be the first to launch with two non-professional cosmonauts on board. This milestone was originally planned to occur on Soyuz MS-20, in December 2021, which will carry two paying ‘space tourists’ to the ISS. These plans remain in place, and are not impacted by the movie.

However, other aspects of the Soyuz crew schedule for 2021/22 are impacted. Klim Shipenko and the actress will return to Earth after around twelve days in space on board Soyuz MS-18, along with departing Soyuz commander Oleg Novitisky. However, his crew mates, Peter Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will have to wait for a future Soyuz crew exchange, in order to return to Earth, in early 2022. Head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Pavel Vlasov, has said, ‘We will not ask them to do a double shift!’ a reference to a one year stay, ‘So we will bring Soyuz MS-21 forward, by a few weeks.’

Head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, who is very much one of the architects of the project, has described the movie project as ‘an experiment’ to see if Roscosmos can prepare two ordinary people for spaceflight in around 3 to 4 months. Rogozin and his colleagues in Glavkosmos, the commercial arm of Roscosmos, want to sell more seats on future Soyuz missions to wealthy tourists, and they know that streamlining the time for training and preparation is key to competing with American players in the market.

One thing is clear though. This project will move quickly now, and we’ll bring further updates, as they emerge.

Words 

© Tony Quine 

Graphics

© Maciej Stolowski

 

Soyuz plans for 2021 - Part 2

Soyuz crewing plans for 2021 now clearer

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the confused state of space crew planning for the three Soyuz flights planned to visit the ISS, this year. (Soyuz plans unclear as Gagarin 60th Anniversary approaches ).  This was comfortably our fastest read Blog yet, with well over 1000 views in the first 24 hours. So, now that the picture is a little clearer, it’s appropriate to summarise how plans have now evolved and been clarified.

Last week, Roscosmos made two announcements about the plans for Soyuz MS-18 (April) and Soyuz MS-19 (October). Firstly, after several weeks of rumours, it was confirmed that NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei would join the crew of MS-19, flying with Oleg Novitisky and Peter Dubrov. As anticipated the deal was brokered by Axiom Space, with the Russians apparently receiving a seat on an American spacecraft, in 2023, in return, with no money actually changing hands.

The unlucky cosmonaut who loses his seat is Sergei Korsakov, and the first planned all-Russian crew to visit the ISS, is also broken up. Korsakov now seems likely to become the first Russian go into space on a new generation American craft, as there is a vacant seat on USCV-3, due to launch in September, although this assignment is unlikely to be confirmed until after USCV-1 has returned safely in early May.

The second announcement concerned the proposed ‘Movie in Space’ announced last October which we covered here but about which little had been heard in the intervening three months. Considering the apparent lack of available Soyuz seats, the uncertain financial arrangements, and a certain degree of political and scientific opposition, many space-watchers had expected the project to quietly fade away.

However, the plans have been firmed up, significantly, with two seats on Soyuz MS-19 now being assigned to the project. One of these should be occupied by the film’s Director and Screenwriter, Klim Shipenko, and the other by an, as yet, unidentified actress. First Channel, the TV company behind the project have identified 20 candidates from an applicant pool of 3000. Incidentally, this is around six times the number of applications received for the last call for professional cosmonauts!

These twenty finalists will now be put through medical, physical and psychological assessments to see whichof them is suitable to go into space. The Cosmonaut Training Centre will undertake this work, and will have the final say, on who flies, in October. Shipenko has said that he also needs to ungo this process, which he has started, but not yet completed.  The women are mostly professional actresses, but First Channel have also said that several come from other backgrounds; a pilot, a parachutist, a psychologist, a scientific researcher. These woman have all passed the artistic audition, and are presumably included as ‘insurance’, just in case none of the professionals make it through the demanding cosmonaut tests. 

Here at the Space Sleuthing Blog, we have worked with contacts in Russia and elsewhere, and we have identified most of these twenty finalists, and this will be the subject of a separate Blog, in the coming days. Shipenko has said that the actress-cosmonaut and a back-up will be named in early-April, although that seems rather optimistic, bearing in mind that some of the candidates don't yet have a date for their medicals to start.  

The commander of Soyuz MS-19 will be Anton Shkaplerov, and he will remain in ISS for an extended stay. The movie people will return to Earth, after a stay of twelve days, with Oleg Novitisky, aboard Soyuz MS-18. This movie related crew will now take the title of the ‘first all-Russian' crew, to visit ISS.

Dubrov and Vande Hei will remain on ISS after October, and will return on Soyuz MS-19, when they are relieved by Soyuz MS-21, in early 2022. Pavel Vlasov, Head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre has said that they ‘won’t be completing a double shift’, a reference to a twelve month flight, suggesting a return well before April 2022.  

Before Shkaplerov, Dubrov and Vande Hei make that return, there will be a twelve day visiting mission, the long anticipated double-tourist flight Soyuz MS-20. The detailed plans for this final Soyuz of 2021, MS-20, still remain unannounced. The mission has been arranged by Space Adventures, and was initially to be the first Soyuz flight with two paying Spaceflight Participants. However, Soyuz MS-19, which will now have two non-professional passengers onboard rather dilutes this claim, albeit that the movie crew are not paying for their seats.

It has been clear, for many months, that the commander will be experienced cosmonaut, Alexander Misurkin, who has worked on the development of modified Soyuz control interfaces, to enable the craft to be flown by the commander alone. However, it now seems that these techniques may need to be debuted on Soyuz MS-19, as that will also have only have one professional cosmonaut onboard.

The two Spaceflight Participants (SFP) have not yet been revealed officially, but it has been hinted that an announcement is due, later this month. The Austrian aviator Johanna Maislinger has been linked to this flight, for well over a year, and Space Adventures have always been very cagey when asked about her, never confirming, but never denying anything. Maislinger herself has remained totally silent about her plans and dreams, ignoring, or side-stepping media questions and interest. 

However, in March 2021, she appeared on a German TV documentary, which followed her undertaking her job as a Boeing 777 airline captain. Although there was no dialogue about spaceflight, there was an intriguing on-screen caption "Will irgendwenn als Astronautin ins All" - "Wants someday, as an astronaut, to go into space"

However, we now know that in late 2020, Maislinger had a mishap, in which she sustained multiple fractures. Although she returned to her flying job, in January 2021, it is possible that these injuries have derailed her spaceflight plans. Even if she has to relinquish her place, Johanna Maislinger’s prominence, in the media, during the build up to this flight has probably cemented her place in Space Tourism folklore!

For many months, rumours suggested that the second SFP would be a Japanese woman, and in early March, the name of Yumi Matsutoya, a famous singer and musician, in her own counrty, emerged. It was possible to triangulate this name through sources in Japan, Russia and Europe. Space Adventures gave 'no comment' in response to sharing Matsutoya’s name with them.

She was also identifed and reported in the Russian media by respected agency RIA Novosti. The only factor which throws up a doubt about this name, is that Matsutoya is 67 years old, which would make her, comfortably, the oldest woman in space. However, our Japanese source confirmed that she is known for being very fit and healthy, and she has haboured the dream of spaceflight since visiting the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre back in 1990, when the above image was taken. 

Of course, we cannot rule out the scenario that it my have suited Space Adventures to allow these names to circulate widely, in order to deflect attention from their other clients. However, this would not explain how, or why, Maislinger and Matsutoya themselves have also allowed their names to become linked to Soyuz MS-20! 

It is likely that Space Adventures will also want to name at least one back-up SFP. They will want to a degreehave operational, and financial, resilience within what is a complex, high value financial and business transation.

With plans for Soyuz MS-18 and Soyuz MS-19 now fairly clear, it would will be good to see the Soyuz MS-20 crew, and their objectives while on the ISS, revealed shortly.

© Tony Quine  March 2021