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At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union dominates the space race with a series of firsts, until the U.S. lands the first men on the moon in 1969. With the dawn of the Space Shuttle in 1976, the U.S. gains further ground on its rivals. In 1978, Ron McNair, Anna Fisher and Mike Mullane are among the group selected by NASA to fly aboard the Shuttle after the agency encouraged aspiring astronauts of all genders and racial backgrounds to apply.
Growing up under segregation in South Carolina, McNair had few role models for a life in space beyond Lieutenant Uhura of Star Trek. Vietnam veteran Mullane arrives at NASA skeptical that women or civilians could possess “the right stuff.” Emergency physician Fisher is thrust into the spotlight as the first mother in space. Her decision to leave her one-year-old daughter to fly into space intensifies the scrutiny.
As pressure mounts on the Shuttle program to meet military and commercial demands, disaster strikes in 1986 when Challenger explodes during launch, killing all seven astronauts. While the remaining U.S. shuttle fleet is grounded, the Soviet Union successfully launches Mir, the most sophisticated space station ever seen, and edges ahead in the space race.
Once Upon a Time in Space | Chapter One - America First
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About ONCE UPON A TIME IN SPACE
Follow the human stories behind one of our most extraordinary endeavors: the exploration of space. Moving beyond scientific achievement, the series examines the personal experiences of astronauts, cosmonauts, ground-based participants, and the loved ones left on Earth. Across four episodes, it traces significant landmarks in spacefaring history, from the birth of the Shuttle and the pioneering Space Station Mir to the rise of commercial spaceflight. Through powerful firsthand testimony and intimate, unseen archival footage, a complex portrait of humanity emerges: one that lays bare both our fragility and boundless curiosity. Accounts of bravery, friendship and tragedy are told against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, connecting technical and geopolitical developments to those who experienced them. Created by filmmaker James Bluemel and the team behind the award-winning Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland and Once Upon a Time in Iraq.
Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne are The Drawing Room’s first married couple — they skip Mo entirely and draw each other instead. Between bits about their decade of marriage and “unhinged” parenting, Tig opens up about Come See Me in the Good Light, her Sundance-winning documentary on poet Andrea Gibson’s final year, and what it taught her about facing death without fear.
