Branson, Bezos and Peresild: why famous people fly into space and what they do there

At the beginning of September 2021, a crew with actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim was sent to the ISS in Russia

Shipenko, they will shoot their first feature film in zero gravity - “Challenge”. Let us tell you which other famous people have been in space? Why did they fly there?

Dennis Tito

Dennis Tito is considered the first space tourist.He graduated in space technology and astronautics, but started in business and founded Wilshire Associates, an influential US investment firm.

First, the businessman suggested that NASA send him toorbit, but he was refused, so he turned to Roscosmos. The flight cost $ 20 million, and preparation took eight months. Tito had to pass all medical tests, as well as physically prepare for the flight and have the skills to control the spacecraft.

Dennis Tito

Jeff Bezos

Founder of Amazon and space company BlueOrigin Jeff Bezos flew into space, the first in the company's history. The ship New Shepard crossed the conditional boundary of space, crossed the Karman line, which begins after 100 km of altitude. Together with Bezos on the same flight was the businessman's younger brother, Mark, as well as 82-year-old pilot Wally Funk, as well as student Oliver Damon.

Before the flight, the whole team was trained,which took 14 hours. Passengers listened to safety information, space flight simulations, examined the rocket and learned its principles of operation, and were also instructed to move around the cockpit in zero gravity.

Jeff Bezos

Richard Branson

Billionaire businessman and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson also flew into space in his company's VSS Unity rocket.

The crew included five more people:Virgin Galactic Chief Instructor Beth Moses, Senior Operations Engineer Colin Bennett, and Vice President of Government Relations Sirisha Bandla, as well as two pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, the latter of whom has already flown on VSS Unity.

Despite this, it remains controversial whetherthe crew is actually in space. The fact is that there is no clear boundary of outer space, there is a conditional one - the Karman line, which begins after 100 km of altitude, but in the United States the height of 80 kilometers has historically been considered the cosmic boundary. So the ship was above 80 km, but below 100 km. Nevertheless, the passengers still found themselves in zero gravity.

Richard Branson

Yulia Peresild

Actress Yulia Peresild flew to the ISS to film the world's first film in zero gravity. The launch of the Soyuz-2.1a rocket took place on September 5, 2021.

Peresild is one of the most popular actresses in Russian cinema over the past few years, she starred in "Battle for Sevastopol", the series "Zuleikha Opens Eyes", "Gloom River" and "Mediator".

To become the main character of the film, you had toundergo a thorough medical examination, check the vestibular apparatus, and also undergo training in a pressure chamber. As a result, out of 3 thousand girls, Yulia Peresild received the role, and another participant, Alena Mordvinova, became an understudy.

Together with the actress and director I went to the ISScosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. All three will participate in the filming of the first feature film in space, “The Challenge.” Its plot is based on the story of a female doctor who flies into orbit to save an astronaut. All filming will take 12 days.

But not all representatives of the space industrysupport the idea of ​​making a film on the ISS. According to cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, the ISS is a large laboratory in space, so "there is no place for artists, clowns, and tourists."

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Klim Shipenko

Klim Shipenko has directed films such as"Salyut-7", "Text" and "Kholop". It is noted that Shipenko became the tallest passenger of the Soyuz ship with a height of 189 cm. This is important, since people up to 190 centimeters tall can fly on the ship. This is important for a comfortable journey due to the small size of the rocket.

Shipenko, as well as the candidates for the main role infilm, was examined and tested. If the results were unsatisfactory, the director would have been substituted by Alexei Dudin, who was the operator of the film "Time of the First".

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A post shared by Klim Shipenko (@klim_shipenko)

Civil flights into space have not yet beguneveryday life, but the number of private companies and projects in the public sphere is growing. Space is no longer just a sphere of scientific activity; excursions and films are being made there. Therefore, in the future we will see how the space industry will become closer to ordinary people.

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