# Tom Cruise working with NASA on a film aboard ISS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219 "2020-05-05T20:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/1 "2020-05-05T20:01:39Z")
Just hope NASA doesn’t believe in code reds [https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1257752395750289409](https://twitter.com/JimBridenstine/status/1257752395750289409) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/2 "2020-05-05T22:34:16Z")
There are a lot of different ways that can be interpreted, some a lot less remarkable than others. It could mean that Cruise is going into space, or it could just mean that NASA is providing some space footage for an otherwise Earthbound movie that Cruise is in. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/3 "2020-05-05T23:24:19Z")
sometimes they use a “vomit comet” which is a plane that gives short weightlessness and they can film there . They did that for Apollo 13. > **[Reduced-gravity aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced-gravity_aircraft)** > > A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. > Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NASA Reduced Gravity Research Program, and one is currently operated by the Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration Programmes of the European Space Agency. The unofficial nickname "vomit comet" became popular among those who experienced their operation. > Par... ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/4 "2020-05-05T23:35:42Z")
I hope they know he does his own stunts. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/5 "2020-05-05T23:39:53Z")
I guess if the studio is willing to pay millions to send Cruise up he could film on the ISS. I think the “space tourist” rate was $20 mil the last time they did it. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/6 "2020-05-06T01:44:43Z")
Anyone else remembers “Islands in the Sky” by Arthur C. Clarke?, they try something like that in that book, it’s a fiasco. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/7 "2020-05-06T02:19:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There are a lot of different ways that can be interpreted, some a lot less remarkable than others. Although not impossible, when including Musk’s response it’s a real stretch to assume Cruise won’t actually be going to the ISS. There would be very little reason for SpaceX to be involved unless they are doing the transportation. The Crew Dragon could bring up a small film crew and equipment, and for less money than the typical cost of a big-budget film. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/8 "2020-05-06T02:33:03Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > I hope they know he does his own stunts. Really? I’m quite sure I’ve never heard that before. It’s not like he mentions it in every single interview. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/9 "2020-05-06T04:57:47Z")
Someone also told me that he can ride a motorcycle. I find that very hard to believe. And apparently he can also run. At his age? You’d think he would do one or both of these in at least one of his movies. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/10 "2020-05-06T04:59:40Z")
Well, yeah, but there’s mostly doing you own stunts, and then there’s Tom Cruise crazy, learn to fly a helicopter doing your own stunts. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/11 "2020-05-06T05:11:17Z")
James Cameron is one of two people to have gone to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. That has to be at least as dangerous as going up in space. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/12 "2020-05-06T05:18:34Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > James Cameron is one of two people to have gone to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. That has to be at least as dangerous as going up in space. Three. Two are currently alive. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/13 "2020-05-06T05:22:59Z")
> [@ataraxy22](#): > > Three. Two are currently alive. YOU stand corrected. The answer is actually four, and three still alive - and the most recent one, Victor Vescovo, has done it twice. I was unaware of him, or that the late Jacques Piccard had a companion. > **[Mariana Trench](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_Trench)** > > The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about 200 kilometres (124 mi) east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about 2,550 km (1,580 mi) in length and 69 km (43 mi) in width. The maximum known depth is 10,984 ± 25 metres (36,037 ± 82 ft; 6,006 ± 14 fathoms; 6.825 ± 0.016 mi) at the southern end of a small slot-shaped valley in its floor known as the Challenger Deep. The deepest point of the ... ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/14 "2020-05-06T11:10:59Z")
Looks like SpaceX is going to take Cruise to space although they have not confirmed that yet. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/15 "2020-05-06T12:40:28Z")
And the cost to send him (and whatever crew) to space is especially reasonable, when you consider how much buzz it’s inevitably going to generate for whatever the resulting movie is. How much does Hollywood usually spend on marketing a big picture? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/16 "2020-05-06T13:09:18Z")
The last MI movie budget was $178 mil. It made almost $800 mil. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/17 "2020-05-06T14:35:03Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > James Cameron is one of two people to have gone to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. For how long? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/18 "2020-05-06T15:00:19Z")
Tom Cruise will be late for the launch… …so as the rocket lifts off, he will run up the launching gantry, jump on the outside of the ascending rocket, and hold his breath until he reaches the ISS. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/elpUGB9Ap1Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015) - Ethan Catches a Plane Scene (1/10) | Movieclips") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elpUGB9Ap1Y) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/19 "2020-05-06T16:15:00Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > For how long? And when? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219/20 "2020-05-06T16:17:27Z")
I’d love to be the insurance company writing that policy. 1. Tom Cruise 2. going into space 3. very likely returning safely 4. PROFIT!!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tom-cruise-working-with-nasa-on-a-film-aboard-iss/853219.md?page=2)