Tom Cruise is working with NASA and SpaceX to shoot a film aboard the International Space Station. Details on the project are scarce, but the film will not be related to the Mission: Impossible franchise. (Image Credit: NASA)
Tom Cruise and SpaceX are collaborating with NASA to film a movie in space aboard the International Space Station, but details on the project are scarce. On Tuesday, May 5th, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted that the agency is “excited to work Tom Cruise on a film aboard the space station. We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA’s ambitious plans a reality.”
Cruise, famed star of the Top Gun and Mission: Impossible film franchise, performed impressive stunts before, including grasping onto the side of an Airbus A400 as it takes off in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. It’s quite difficult to imagine Cruise pulling off a more impressive stunt than shooting a film in space. NASA hasn’t confirmed whether the actor will fly to the International Space Station as part of the film. Launch details have not yet been released.
To date, only a few movies have been shot aboard the International Space Station, such as a Cruise-narrated 2002 IMAX documentary, and a science-fiction film titled “Apogee of Fear,” which was filmed by entrepreneur and space tourist Richard Garriot.
Earlier that week, Cruise was already speaking to SpaceX and NASA about a possible action-adventure film. However, a studio hasn’t been tied-in to the project yet, and it’s not clear what the film’s plot is about as it has not been disclosed, but it’s unrelated to the Mission: Impossible franchise.
Founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, tweeted on Tuesday “Should be lots of fun!” SpaceX hasn’t revealed much about their role in the film, but it’s possible that Cruise could fly to the space station on the Crew Dragon spaceship. Crew Dragon is designed to launch up to four people to and from low Earth orbit, which could be enough room for Tom Cruise, a small film team, and an astronaut in command. In February, SpaceX announced it would launch four private citizens to Earth-orbit aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
Last year NASA said it would allow private astronauts to stay aboard the International Space Station for 30 days. Passengers would launch to the ISS on the Crew Dragon spacecraft or Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule.
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