Disney+’s Among the Stars to explore NASA mission
September 15, 2021
By Nik Roseveare
Disney+ has unveiled its newest original series, Among the Stars, with all episodes of the six-part series streaming exclusively on Disney+ from October 6th.
The docuseries, produced by Fulwell 73, follows NASA astronaut Captain Chris Cassidy as he embarks on one last mission. Through intimate footage, personal video diaries and livestream footage — stationed both on Earth and in space — viewers will be provided with a first look at the critically important team of engineers, flight controllers and specialists who take on these dangerous missions.
Following the teams’ successes and failures over the course of two years, Among the Stars provides behind-the-scenes access to the important NASA mission of repairing a $2 billion science experiment, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which aims to reveal the origins of the universe. To repair the AMS, former Navy Seal Captain Cassidy and his team must undertake a series of complex spacewalks, but the story quickly becomes a tale about the broader team at NASA, their roles on this daring mission and the collective quest to succeed.
Filmed with different space agencies across the globe — from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to the European Space Agency in Cologne to the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency outside of Tokyo and the Russian Space Agency in Star City — viewers will be transported around the world as they follow Captain Cassidy in his training to depart to the International Space Station.
The series will introduce viewers to astronauts and engineers from around the world, including Captain Cassidy’s partner astronaut, Luca Parmitano from the European Space Agency; Drew Morgan, a rookie NASA astronaut who gets the chance of a lifetime to repair the AMS; Emily Nelson, AMS flight director and the 10th female flight director at NASA; Heather Bergman, AMS spacewalk tools manager at NASA who leads a team dedicated to creating spacewalk tools; professor Samuel Ting, Nobel Prize winner for discovering the subatomic particle and AMS Inventor; and Ken Bollweg, AMS project manager who has worked hand-in-hand with professor Ting on the AMS experiment from its inception 25 years ago.
Among the Stars is directed by Ben Turner. Executive producers on this series include Gabe Turner, Leo Pearlman, Will Gluck and Richard Schwartz.