“FIGHT FOR SPACE” is a documentary film that explains the economic and cultural benefits of human space exploration. This film additionally examines the historical political events that have led to the decline of NASA’s budget since 1968, and its struggle to return to the Moon and send humans to Mars. FIGHT FOR SPACE presents viewpoints from Astronauts, politicians and staff, scientists, former NASA officials, commercial space entrepreneurs, and many other individuals in the space community.
Why haven’t we gone back to the Moon in over 45 years? Why hasn’t NASA sent humans to Mars? What challenges have stopped us from achieving ambitious goals in space when technology is advancing so quickly on the ground? Through a series of interviews with top space industry experts, we answer these questions.
Today, with far less public interest in space exploration, NASA’s budget has been shrinking along with its ambitions in human spaceflight. The Space Launch System, scheduled to carry humans into space in 2018, is underfunded and lacks a clear goal. Fight for Space will examine future plans from NASA and other commercial endeavors.
The goal of this film is to present the arguments for and against, on why a robust and ambitious space program is good for the country and the world, by showing them the benefits that such a program would bring.
Space History
Space history is a key part in our story. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy pointed the nation towards the Moon, and in 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the surface of another world. In 1972, Apollo 17 lifted off from the Moon and returned to earth. December of 1972 was the last time any human has been beyond low earth orbit. Our film looks at the intricate details of what lead to the premature cancellation of Apollo, and the defunding of NASA during the 1970s.
Space Vehicles
Apollo, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station. Anyone vaguely familiar with NASA knows these names. What caused the cancellation of the Saturn V rocket that carried men to the Moon? Why did we appear to downgrade from the Saturn V, a gigantic vehicle capable of sending humans into deep space, to the Space Shuttle, a space truck incapable of going beyond low earth orbit? The International Space Station was first announced in 1984 under the name Space Station Freedom, it was supposed to be completed by 1994, but NASA didn’t finish the project until 2010, and it was over budget. Fight for Space examines the history of these vehicles in an effort to better understand their role in space exploration.