Russian Movie in Space Part 12

 Rogozin wants to send "Вызов" back-up crew members into Space too. 

The Soyuz MS-19, carrying the so-called 'creative crew' of professional cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and movie makers Klim Shipenko and Julia Peresild was launched successfully on 5th October. A little over three hours later, the Soyuz docked with the International Space Station, although the docking was completed manually, after a problem with the automated Kurs system. 

The flight, so far, has been reported in the global media, so we don't propose to repeat, or compete, with that coverage. However we will report a small sub-plot which emerged during the post-docking media event.

Dmitri Rogozin, Head of Roscosmos, has revealed that the two back-up Spaceflight Participants, for Soyuz MS-19 had been invited to join the professional cosmonaut team. Aleksey Dudin, 40, a camera operator and Alyona Mordovina, 33, an actress, have both received the official invitation. Rogozin explained that both had successfully completed the challenging cosmonaut medical, physical and psychological tests, in the Spring.

They have also completed four months of flight specific training, and passed their final examinations, as part of the back-up crew, with professional cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. In fact, this crew actually outscored the prime crew, in those examinations. So, they were fully certified to fly the Soyuz MS-19 mission, had this become necessary. 

Mr Dudin would join a fairly long line of male cosmonauts at various stages of preparation for their first spaceflight. However, for Miss Mordovina, the situation would be rather different. 

Roscosmos only has a solitary female cosmonaut in their team, Anna Kikina, 37, an engineer recruited in 2012, and due to make her first spaceflight, next year. No women were successful in the 2018 or 2020 recruitment processses. Rogozin has previously commented on his wish to rapidly expand the available pool of female cosmonauts. 

Another participant in the actress recruitment process, Galina Kairova, 26, who is also a pilot, received an offer to join the cosmonaut squad, in May, when she reached the final stages of the casting process. So the news that Miss Mordovina had received a similar offer was not totally unexpected.

Recently, the Head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC), Maxim Kharlamov, said that he was in regular contact with Miss Kairova, but it seems that no solid plans for her are yet in place. Perhaps the plan is to sychronise the recruitment of both women, now that Miss Mordovina is free from her back-up duties?

Roscosmos Press Office declined to make any additional comment. However, long before Rogozin's announcement, informal contacts within the GCTC had remarked that Miss Mordovina could well be recruited into the cosmonaut team. Her excellent performance in training, personal qualities, and the general lack of female cosmonauts had created her opportunity. 

So far, the response from Miss Mordovina, and Mr Dudin, has not been reported, although when talking to a TV reporter, prior to the launch and Rogozin's comments, Alyona had said, "We might get that opportunity (to fly in Space) very soon." 

We will keep a close eye on this story, and bring updates, as they occur.

Words - Tony Quine October 2021

Photos - Roscosmos or GCTC Press Offices.