‘The Space Race’ documentary from NatGeo explores the history of Black astronauts from America [WATCH]

Eight years after the film “Hidden Figures” brought the work of three Black women NASA mathematicians to mass audiences, National Geographic will debut a documentary film “The Space Race: The Untold Story of the First Black Astronauts.” Featuring interviews with former test pilot Ed Dwight, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Leland Melvin and more, “The Space Race” reveals the boundary-defying work of these men who dreamed of reaching the stars as Americans struggled for equality at home on solid ground. The film chronicles over 50 years of this history, up to 2020 and the news about George Floyd’s murder reaching the International Space Station.

The new film documents the discrimination these men faced in achieving their goals. In a trailer for the movie, NASA astronaut and former administrator Charlie Bolden remembers how amazed he was at America’s space program, but “growing up in the Jim Crow South, you knew what you could and couldn’t do and you didn’t press the system.” Despite the barriers he encountered to his own success, he notes how “there is no organization that is more effective in promoting our greatness than NASA.” Watch the trailer above.

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In a separate featurette, Dwight recalls, “My hope was just getting into space in any kind of way, but they were not going to let that happen.” The movie also includes historical footage of space shuttle launches and of the Black astronauts including Glover in the space shuttle. Melvin adds that it is important to look back on this history and “how that struggle took place” because “if you don’t know where you’ve been, you don’t know where you’re going.”

“The Space Race” is directed by Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. Cortés is an Emmy Award winner for the documentary “The Apollo.” The film is written by Mark Monroe, a six-time Emmy nominee including one win for the non-fiction program “Lucy and Desi.” Their documentary comes to Nat Geo after a successful run on the film festival circuit, where it won prizes for Best Documentary Feature in Chicago, Denver and elsewhere.

“The Space Race” debuts on NatGeo on Monday, February 12 before streaming on Hulu and Disney+ the following day, Tuesday, February 13.

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