Cruise and Musk Bring Hollywood to the ISS

The history of American spaceflight has been filed with numerous monumental achievements. When presented with the task to identify the biggest accomplishment in the extensive history of spaceflight in the United States, many will instinctively point to the landing of Apollo 11 on the lunar surface. Apollo 11, the pinnacle of the Space Race, fulfilled a challenge set forth by John F. Kennedy to land a human on the moon and return him safely to the Earth. The mission galvanized the nation to achieve a common goal and prioritized space exploration. However, as time progressed, spaceflight and exploration became less of a priority. While the Apollo missions were followed by a nation, consequential NASA missions and programs have been followed merely by a select group within the population until now. 

Spaceflight in America is no longer a singular government entity. Instead, the industry has been opened to commercial programs including SpaceX, Boeing, and Blue Origin. One reason that made the Space Race enticing to the average citizen was the sense of competition, and in turn national pride, between the United States and the Soviet Union. The commercialization of the space industry has created a renewed sense of competition and urgency. It has also allowed for visionaries like Elon Musk to dream big and work towards seemingly futuristic goals of space exploration. 

Utilizing the universal popularity and recognition of Tesla, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been able to generate national attention for space exploration. The monumental launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket was followed by all citizens regardless of prior spaceflight knowledge. Similar to Apollo 11, the historic launch renewed a national desire to explore space. 

The launch, however, was merely a starting point for SpaceX and future spaceflight in the United States. On May 30, 2020, SpaceX launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on a mission to the International Space Station. It was the first time since 2011 that American astronauts were launched into orbit from American soil. Not only was the launch significant for the future of commercialized American spaceflight, but it also proved that Elon Musk’s dream of a future with normalized spaceflight is not too far away. 

The success of the mission has been extensively covered in the national media. As a result of the renewed admiration for space exploration, Tom Cruise is ready to make SpaceX and NASA’s ambitious plans a reality. The actor famous for movies such as Top Gun and Mission: Impossible wants to be the first person to film a movie on the International Space Station. Known for performing his own stunts in films, Cruise is not one to shy away from the dangers of space. Cruise and Musk are “working on a project with NASA that would be the first narrative feature film – an action adventure – to be shot in outer space” aboard the International Space Station [1]. Although the script has yet to be written, the movie already has an approved budget of around $200 million from Universal Pictures. Previously a farfetched idea, Cruise is on track to create a groundbreaking film. Confirmed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, the project proves that a society with normalized spaceflight is not just a futuristic idea seen in films. With a nation in support of spaceflight and exploration, the potential societal developments steaming from regular spaceflight are limitless.

Grayson Kahle is an member of GUSI and an Economics Major in the College.