The HBO documentary Wild Wild Space details the firm's competitiveness and the significant repercussions of the growing space industry.
The film follows Rocket Lab, Astra, and Planet Labs in the new space race. Though not as well-known as SpaceX, these startups have raised over a billion dollars. The documentary showcases Planet Labs' journey from NASA to a company, Rocket Labs' growth as a New Zealand startup, and Astra's unique Silicon Valley charm, per TechCrunch.
To debut on July 17, "Wild Wild Space," Ross Kauffman's HBO documentary, opens with a high-risk moment when Astra CEO Chris Kemp informs his passenger that he lacks a driver's license, automobile registration, and insurance.
Intense Rivalry in The New Space Race
HBO Originals has released the description for "Wild Wild Space," a documentary about the race to launch satellite-carrying rockets into low Earth orbit. Inspired by Ashlee Vance's best-selling book "When the Heavens Went on Sale," the film follows the founders of three rocket and satellite companies, Space, Rocket Lab, and Planet Labs-as they aim to dominate space, per its media release.
In addition to exploring capitalism's effects on space travel, the documentary follows this high-stakes competition's thrilling victories and tragic defeats. Using satellites for environmental monitoring, government surveillance, and military espionage raises ethical questions about technology.
"Wild Wild Space" also discusses space debris and Earth's low orbit, indicating that space management may determine humanity's destiny. Zero Point Zero Production, Amblin Documentaries, and Hyperobject Industries produced the film.
Planet, a prominent source of daily satellite images and GIS solutions, participated in the documentary. The firm, founded by three NASA scientists in 2010, manufactures and operates most of the Earth's observation satellites. To make changes visible, accessible, and actionable, the planet is imaged every day.
Planet supports nearly 1,000 customers, including government organizations, large agribusiness, forestry, intelligence, education, and finance firms. Users may gain unique value from satellite images using mission-critical data, enhanced insights, and software solutions provided by the firm.
Check out this official trailer:
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Exploring Space as a New Field of Business
Before Kemp launched Astra, Chris Kemp and Planet CEO Will Marshall met in college and collaborated on a Rocket Lab launch agreement. Rocket Lab and Planet Labs thrived while Astra struggled. All three firms went public in 2021 with billion-dollar valuations, showing how Astra's charm, especially Kemp's, compensated for its technological issues. The film showcases Rocket Lab's Peter Beck and Astra's Kemp in competition. Moreover, it showed Beck's doubts about the viability of Astra's ultra-cheap rocket project.
The HBO documentary also examines the larger effects of the new space economic paradigm, where private businesses control rockets and space assets. This transition raises privacy and national security issues, especially given Planet Labs' engagement in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service.
"Wild Wild Space" uses Planet, Rocket Lab, and Astra as space industry case studies for bold entrepreneurs, per Space.com. The film stresses how these new entities and personalities have transformed space exploration, implying that entrepreneurs taking over space might alter humanity's destiny.
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