(UPI) — NASA plans to launch its live-streamed programming on Netflix — featuring rocket liftoffs, astronaut spacewalks and live views of Earth from the International Space Station — to the “broadest possible audience,” starting this summer, the space agency announced Monday.
Through Netflix, NASA+ could expand the space agency’s reach to a global audience of more than 700 million viewers. NASA+ will continue to be available for free through the space agency’s website and through the NASA app.
“The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 calls on us to share our story of space exploration with the broadest possible audience,” said Rebecca Sirmons, general manager of NASA+ at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
“Together, we’re committed to a Golden Age of Innovation and Exploration — inspiring new generations — right from the comfort of their couch or in the palm of their hand from their phone,” Sirmons added.
NASA’s grainy footage of the first Apollo moon landing in 1969 captured 650 million viewers around the world. Now the space agency is planning to showcase its Artemis moon missions with numerous high-definition cameras. Artemis II, which will orbit a crew around the moon, is currently targeting a launch date of April 2026. Artemis III, which will land on the moon, is currently scheduled for the middle of 2027.
“I hope to be on the moon missions, but if I’m not, I’m going to be glued to my TV, and I’m going to be watching almost everything that comes down,” Artemis astronaut Scott Tingle told UPI in 2021.
“There’s a huge opportunity here to pipe a lot of this through NASA TV, and I don’t think that this organization is going to miss an opportunity to do that if it’s technically possible,” Tingle added.
Netflix has been showcasing space exploration content for years.
In 2021, Netflix released a five-part docuseries on SpaceX and the first launch of its all-private orbital spaceflight, Inspiration4. The series featured footage of the entire mission “from training to launch to landing.”
That same year, Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, produced a full-length feature film shot at the International Space Station to promote the growing commercialization of orbital spaceflight.
In 2020, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted that actor Tom Cruise would fly to the space station for a movie, but no date was announced. The film is still in development, as plans call for Cruise to become the first civilian to perform a spacewalk outside of ISS.
“More and more movies and videos will be shot in space as the price of launches falls due to competition from firms like SpaceX and Blue Origin,” James Neihouse, IMAX movie cinematographer told UPI.
