Soyuz MS-19 launched 2021

Soyuz MS-19 crew (L-R): Klim Shipenko, Yulia Peresild, Anton Shkaplerov

Soyuz MS-19, launched October 5, 2021, carried the first mission to the International Space Station with an all-Russian crew.  It was also the first time in 21 years a Soyuz mission was launched without an American astronaut on board.  Its crew consisted of Commander Anton Shkaplerov, Klim Shipenko (film director), and Yulia Peresild (actress).  The ship had to be upgraded so it could be piloted by a single person.  

Shipenko and Peresild spent about 12 days on the ISS filming the movie The Challenge, and returned to Earth on Soyuz MS-18.  Shkaplerov remained in space for over 176 days and returned with cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov and astronaut Mark Vande Hei in March 2022.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut and actress Yulia Peresild!

Yulia Peresild, born September 5, 1984 in the former Soviet Union, is an actress and astronaut.  She went into space aboard Soyuz MS-19, launched October 5, 2021 to the International Space Station.  She traveled with her producer/director Klim Shipenko.  They stayed aboard the ISS for over 11 days, filming scenes for the Russian movie The Challenge.  She had to train to be a cosmonaut in order to do the movie.

She returned to Earth on Soyuz MS-18 October 17, 2021.