Russia film crew set to blast off to make 1st movie in space

MOSCOW (AP) — In a historic first, Russia is set to launch an actor and a film director into space to make a feature film in orbit — a project the nation's space chief has hailed as a chance to raise the prestige of Russia's space program.

Actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko are set to blast off Tuesday for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft together with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, a veteran of three space missions. After 12 days on the space outpost, Peresild and Klimenko will return to Earth with another Russian cosmonaut.

The crew plans to film segments of a new movie titled “Challenge" about a surgeon summoned to rush to the space station to save a crew member who suffers a heart condition.

Speaking at a news conference at the Russian launch facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Peresild acknowledged that the training for the mission was grueling but described it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It's a miracle, an incredible chance,” she said.

“We worked really hard and we are really tired, even though we stay in good spirits and smile,” the 37-year-old actor confided. “It was psychologically, physically and morally hard. But I think that once we achieve the goal, all that will seem not so difficult and we will remember it with a smile.”

Peresild said it was difficult for her to adapt to the strict discipline and rigorous demands required during the training.

“Here on Baikonur, we made friends with everyone and all people warmed up,” she said. “But it was quite difficult in the beginning, when you aren't given much choice: Just go, run, go faster, hold on, carry on. It wasn't easy for us and it was quite unexpected, but we have gone through it."

She said learning about the design and handling of the spacecraft was the most...