Return to Space

A documentary about America's return to crewed spaceflight from its own soil. The shuttle programme ended in 2011 and for nine years America could not send astronauts on its own vehicles; they flew on Russian rockets. The documentary is about the end of that period, the flight of 2020. The narrative follows a private company's rocket development: failed attempt after failed attempt, rockets exploding, a limited budget and a stretch when the company came close to bankruptcy. Then the first successful landing and the idea of a reusable rocket. The second line is two astronauts: Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken. Both are experienced and close friends. The interviews with their families are the most human part; one of their wives is an astronaut herself and knows the risk exactly. A great deal of archive footage and launch material is used. Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi directed; the pair were known previously for mountaineering documentaries. It was shown directly on a streaming service. An interesting record for anyone curious about the space programme and engineering documentary. For a viewer expecting a critical eye, the film stands close to the company's account and does not open the private sector's role in space to argument.