National Geographic has released a new The Space Race trailer for the documentary about the first Black pilots, engineers and scientists to become astronauts amidst the space race. The film will debut on National Geographic on Monday, February 12 and on Disney+ the next day.
“The Space Race weaves together the stories of Black astronauts seeking to break the bonds of social injustice to reach for the stars, including Guion Bluford, Ed Dwight and Charles Bolden among many others,” reads the movie’s synopsis. “In The Space Race, directors Lisa Cortés and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza profile the pioneering Black pilots, scientists, and engineers who joined NASA to serve their country in space, even as their country failed to achieve equality for them back on Earth.
“From 1963, when the assassination of JFK thwarted Captain Ed Dwight’s quest to reach the moon, to 2020, when the echoes of the civil unrest sparked by the killing of George Floyd reached the International Space Station, the story of African Americans at NASA is a tale of world events colliding with the aspirations of uncommon men. The bright dreams of Afrofuturism become reality in The Space Race, turning science fiction into science fact, and forever redefining what “the right stuff” looks like, giving us new heroes to celebrate, and a fresh history to explore.”
You can view the new The Space Race trailer on YouTube below (watch more trailers):
Who directed The Space Race?
The Space Race was directed by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés. It features Ed Dwight and Leland Melvin as subjects and was produced by Alexandra Bowen, Aly Parker, Mark Monroe, Keero Birla, Lisa Cortés, and Diego Hurtado de Mendoza. Executive producers are Frank Marshall, Tony Rosenthal, Carolyn Bernstein, and Leland Melvin.