Premiere: Premieres on National Geographic Feb. 12, 2024, and next day on Disney+ and Hulu

Description: As part of the Oscar®- and Emmy® Award-winning National Geographic Documentary Films banner, “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. In “The Space Race,” directors Diego Hurtado de Mendoza and Lisa Cortés 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 Capt. 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.

Panelists:

• Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, Director and Producer
• Lisa Cortés, Director and Producer
• Frank Marshall, Executive Producer
• Leland Melvin, Executive Producer, NASA Astronaut and Film Participant
• Ed Dwight, Astronaut and Film Participant
• Victor Glover, NASA Astronaut and Film Participant

Contacts:

Kristin Montalbano – Kristin.Montalbano@natgeo.com 

Nora Gordon – Nora.Gordon@natgeo.com 

Socials: Nat Geo Docs Facebook, Nat Geo Docs Instagram, #TheSpaceRaceFilm

Website: The Space Race | National Geographic Documentary Films