Movies Similar to Before Launching into Space

When We Were Apollo(2019)

Who were the men and women of Project Apollo? Where are they today? What do they think of the extraordinary effort they helped make possible? Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in 2019, When We Were Apollo is an intimate and personal look at the Apollo Space Program through the lives and experiences of some of its most inspiring behind-the-scenes figures: engineers, technicians, builders and contractors who spent the better part of a decade working to get us to the moon and back.

6.7

One Strange Rock(2018)

A mind-bending, thrilling journey exploring the fragility and wonder of planet Earth, one of the most peculiar, unique places in the entire universe, brought to life by the only people to have left it behind – the world’s most well known and leading astronauts. This edit combined episodes one and ten to create a new movie.

5.7

In the Shadow of the Moon(2007)

Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.

7.5

Thomas Pesquet: The Makings of a Hero(2019)

At 38, Thomas Pesquet is the youngest French astronaut to be selected for a 180 days mission in the ISS. Oleg Novitskiy, the Russian pilot and the American Peggy Whitson, the most experienced astronaut in the world, train alongside him.

7.3

The Last Man on the Moon(2016)

The 1960s was an extraordinary time for the United States. Unburdened by post-war reparations, Americans were preoccupied with other developments like NASA, the game-changing space programme that put Neil Armstrong on the moon. Yet it was astronauts like Eugene Cernan who paved the uneven, perilous path to lunar exploration. A test pilot who lived to court danger, he was recruited along with 14 other men in a secretive process that saw them become the closest of friends and adversaries. In this intensely competitive environment, Cernan was one of only three men who was sent twice to the moon, with his second trip also being NASA’s final lunar mission. As he looks back at what he loved and lost during the eight years in Houston, an incomparably eventful life emerges into view. Director Mark Craig crafts a quietly epic biography that combines the rare insight of the surviving former astronauts with archival footage and otherworldly moonscapes.

6.6

For All Mankind(1989)

A testament to NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the missions and astronaut interviews, the documentary offers the viewpoint of the individuals who braved the remarkable journey to the moon and back.

7.8

The Wonder of It All(2007)

The Wonder of it All focuses on the human side of the men behind the Apollo missions through candid interviews with seven of the Apollo astronauts: Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt. They all reflect on the training, the tragedies, the camaraderie, and the effect that their space travel has had on their families.

6.5

Mission to Mir(1997)

This film shows how far we have come since the cold-war days of the 50s and 60s. Back then the Russians were our "enemies". And to them the Americans were their "enemies" who couldn't be trusted. Somewhere in all this a young girl in Oklahoma named Shannon set her sights on becoming one of those space explorers, even though she was told "girls can't do that." But she did.

6.5

Space Station 3D(2002)

Some 220 miles above Earth lies the International Space Station, a one-of-a-kind outer space laboratory that 16 nations came together to build. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this extraordinary structure in this spectacular IMAX film. Viewers will blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia for this incredible journey -- IMAX's first-ever space film. Tom Cruise narrates.

6.4

Searching for Skylab, America's Forgotten Triumph(2019)

The first American space station Skylab is found in pieces scattered in Western Australia. Putting these pieces back together and re-tracing the Skylab program back to its very conception reveals the cornerstone of human space exploration.

7.0

The Wonderful: Stories from the Space Station(2021)

In unusual circumstances, scientists from different countries work together to achieve a common scientific goal. Locked in their spinning space lab, they are isolated from the world — family and friends - and can only watch from the outside as life on Earth continues without them. The space station is a monument not only to the weaknesses of humanity, but also to its ability to do the impossible for the sake of life in space.

7.0

When We Left Earth(2008)

Commemorating the space agency's 50th anniversary, follow John Glenn's Mercury mission to orbit the earth, Neil Armstrong's first historic steps on the moon, unprecedented spacewalks to repair the Hubble stories, and more!

6.4

The Dream Is Alive(1985)

The Dream Is Alive takes you into space alongside the astronauts on the space shuttle. Share with them the delights of zero gravity while working, eating and sleeping in orbit around the Earth. Float as never before over the towering Andes, the boot of Italy, Egypt and the Nile. Witness firsthand a tension-filled satellite capture and repair and the historic first spacewalk by an American woman.

7.5

Sally(2025)

Sally Ride's groundbreaking journey as the first American woman in space concealed a deeply personal story. Her life partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, unveils their covert 27-year romance and its accompanying sacrifices.

8.2

When We Were Shuttle(2022)

Explores the Shuttle Program through the eyes of some of the exceptional men and women who worked behind-the-scenes to make it fly. A unique and intimate portrait of the Shuttle Years, their recollections and personal archives reveal their fondest memories and darkest hours: from the launching and repair of the Hubble Space Telescope and the construction of the International Space Station, to the loss of Shuttles Challenger and Columbia in accidents that were ultimately seen as avoidable, and in many ways served as the impetus for the fleet’s early retirement.

0.0

Apollo 13: Survival(2024)

Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and the struggle to bring its astronauts safely home.

7.2

Moonwalk One(1972)

This documentary by Theo Kamecke from 1970 gives an indepth and profound look at the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. NASA footage is interspersed with reactions to the mission around the world as the film captures the intensity as well of the philosophical significance of the event. Won special award at Cannes. Written by Adam Bernstein .

6.2

Collision Point: The Race to Clean Up Space(2014)

No matter how clear the night sky is, no matter how many millions of stars are within view, looking up at the sky on a clear night still hides the halo of man-made debris around Earth that threatens the future of space exploration and endangers us all.

6.6

Starman(2020)

Luca Parmitano is the first italian astronaut to perform an extravehicular activity, currently part of the crew engaged in the Expedition 61 mission on board the International Space Station (SSI), is ready to tell his latest space adventures.

7.2

Apollo 11: The Untold Story(2006)

Nearly forty years after the moon landing the men on the mission reveal what really happened. On how close the mission came to disaster.

8.0