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Wild Wild Space

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2:01

Wild Wild Space

2024

1h 35m

Documentary

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

WILD WILD SPACE chronicles the modern-day, celestial land grab happening above our heads. It's a fast paced, high-stakes race of epic proportions in which companies compete to blast satellite-carrying rockets into low earth orbit. From exhilarating triumphs to gut-wrenching setbacks, we witness the fierce competition to tackle humanity's next great frontier. However, beneath the shiny veneer of progress is the dark side of capitalism's insatiable appetite for profit and the far-reaching reverberations of a world controlled from the skies. Inspired by the New York Times best-selling book "When the Heavens Went on Sale" by esteemed technology and space journalist Ashlee Vance, WILD WILD SPACE follows three rocket and satellite companies -- Astra Space, Rocket Lab, and Planet Labs -- and the quests of their idiosyncratic founders to conquer the burgeoning space industry. Following the roller coaster journey for a piece of this unchartered territory, the film details the multi-faceted uses of satellites, from planet-saving, environmental imaging to "big brother" government scrutiny and military espionage, exploring the ethics of technological advances. With billions of dollars at stake, the world's privacy in the balance, and the ramifications of space debris dangerously cluttering earth's low orbit, the documentary reveals how satellites now control the fabric of our modern world, and posits that whoever controls space, may very well control the future of humanity.

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Anita Singh

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The documentary is as entertaining as it is informative, because people who devote their careers to building rockets tend to be quite interesting.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 12, 2024

Full Review

Richard Roeper

Chicago Sun-Times

Directed with a solid, no-frills, straightforward approach by Ross Kaufmann and inspired by the best-selling book by the terrific journalist Ashlee Vance...

Rated: 3/4

Jul 22, 2024

Full Review

John Anderson

Wall Street Journal

Wild Wild Space delivers an apt intro to director Ross Kauffman’s journey into the untamed frontier of low-earth orbit, a documentary that has the right stuff and asks the right questions.

Jul 18, 2024

Full Review

John Serba

Decider

Wild Wild Space is yet another good one from HBO’s documentary division. Three… two… one… SREAM IT.

Aug 13, 2024

Full Review

Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

The good news, I guess, is that these guys haven’t all lost their minds the way Musk has. But I have trouble seeing why I’m supposed to be inspired about their actions or missions.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 9, 2024

Full Review

Andrew Parker

The Gate

With humankind increasingly relying on satellites [it] only makes sense that profit minded companies would like to do more with less, and this basic but effective documentary looks both critically and enthusiastically at what that entails.

Rated: 7/10

Jul 19, 2024

Full Review

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na n

Itll tell you who todays players are in the space rocket bizness, but it wont go onto what lies ahead.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/25

Full Review

Daniel O

Very fun and informative film if you're not in the aerospace industry. A must watch if you're in tech, a nerd, enjoy documentaries or are interested in space to any degreed. If you're deep in the industry, I have a gut feeling you might be watching it and calling out all the inaccuracies as I do when I'm an "expert" in something.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/15/24

Full Review

Noneya B

A tale of success, of failure. One of grit, another of low class scheming and government waste. I enjoyed it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/02/24

Full Review

George B

WOW...... So interesting...... That secret Chinese Sub pen.... The Ukrainian war.... Mission to another planet.... Can't wait.....

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/26/24

Full Review

Audience Member

I can only recall seeing very few business-related documentaries where external observers got such an intimate access over long periods of time (three “New Space” companies are covered from about 2016/2017 until early 2024, with older material mixed in from the company archives and other sources). The documentary reveals how the grip on space and rockets has shifted from national states, bureaucratic organizations (like NASA) and their long-term suppliers (often huge companies like Boeing, Lockheed etc.) to ambitious, nimble and energetic start-ups who skirt or even overstep established rules. These tectonic shifts will affect all of us in terms of safety, national security and privacy. Satellite constellations already rule our daily life on Earth right now, for better or worse: From GPS positioning in cars and planes, over emergency calls in remote areas with no conventional cell phone average, to more accurate weather forecasts and troop or refugee movements in or ahead of conflicts across the globe. The documentary's title is therefore very fitting indeed, the skies have become a Wild Wild Space. Sort of a "land grab in space" in the 21st century. Space is now open for business, not just for a few billionaires or very powerful nation states. The WWS documentary is eye-opening in this regard, we are only at the very beginning. The private space sector today (2024) is maybe at the development stage of the early Internet/WWW era back in 1994 (if I had to take a guess).

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/26/24

Full Review

Sal D

A very polished documentary that explores various aspects of the commercialization of space through the eyes of a number of entrepreneurs. Definitely worth a watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/21/24

Full Review

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Ross Kauffman

Director

Ashlee Vance

Self

Will Marshall

Self

Pete Worden

Self

Jaye Callahan

Producer

Ashlee Vance

Producer

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Wild Wild Space: Trailer

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Synopsis

WILD WILD SPACE chronicles the modern-day, celestial land grab happening above our heads. It's a fast paced, high-stakes race of epic proportions in which companies compete to blast satellite-carrying rockets into low earth orbit. From exhilarating triumphs to gut-wrenching setbacks, we witness the fierce competition to tackle humanity's next great frontier. However, beneath the shiny veneer of progress is the dark side of capitalism's insatiable appetite for profit and the far-reaching reverberations of a world controlled from the skies. Inspired by the New York Times best-selling book "When the Heavens Went on Sale" by esteemed technology and space journalist Ashlee Vance, WILD WILD SPACE follows three rocket and satellite companies -- Astra Space, Rocket Lab, and Planet Labs -- and the quests of their idiosyncratic founders to conquer the burgeoning space industry. Following the roller coaster journey for a piece of this unchartered territory, the film details the multi-faceted uses of satellites, from planet-saving, environmental imaging to "big brother" government scrutiny and military espionage, exploring the ethics of technological advances. With billions of dollars at stake, the world's privacy in the balance, and the ramifications of space debris dangerously cluttering earth's low orbit, the documentary reveals how satellites now control the fabric of our modern world, and posits that whoever controls space, may very well control the future of humanity.

Director: Ross Kauffman
Producer: Jaye Callahan, Ashlee Vance, Adam McKay, Todd Schulman, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Craig H. Shepherd
Distributor: Max
Production Co: Zero Point Zero Production
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 17, 2024
Runtime: 1h 35m

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