‘Wild Wild Space’ is an HBO documentary directed by Ross Kauffman. It follows three companies, Astra Space, Rocket Lab, and Planet Labs, as their founders try to turn rockets and satellite imagery into commercial businesses. It premiered on HBO on July 17, 2024, and runs 93 minutes according to Space.com’s July 23, 2024 review. The film is best understood as a set of company case studies about building private space infrastructure, not a current scorecard of how each company is doing today.
Who the film follows and why they are different
The three featured companies occupy different parts of the space economy, and the film’s tension comes partly from that difference. Two are launch companies that build rockets. The third sells Earth-observation data from its own satellites. TechCrunch’s July 11, 2024 review describes Rocket Lab and Astra as rocket makers and Planet Labs as an Earth-observation company.
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| Company | Core business | How the 2024 reviews describe its arc in the film |
|---|---|---|
| Astra Space | Builds launch vehicles intended to be low-cost and produced at scale | Faces repeated setbacks |
| Rocket Lab | Builds rockets and launches satellites into low Earth orbit | Described as advancing |
| Planet Labs | Operates Earth-observation satellites and sells imagery and data | Described as advancing |
The trajectories above are the reviews’ account of the film’s narrative as of mid-2024. They are not an update on each company’s finances, launch record, or operating status, which have likely changed since.
Where the rivalries come from
The film presents the companies as connected as well as competing. TechCrunch reports that Astra CEO Chris Kemp and Planet CEO Will Marshall met in college. Kemp later helped secure a launch deal between Planet and Rocket Lab before founding Astra, so the same network of people sits behind companies that now compete.
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The clearest rivalry in the reporting is over philosophy. TechCrunch presents Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck’s criticism of Astra’s ambition to build ultra-cheap rockets at scale, quoting him as asking, “How cheap and crappy can we make a rocket?” The line is Beck’s own, as reported by TechCrunch, and it frames the film’s argument about whether speed and low cost can coexist with reliability.
Money is part of the story too. TechCrunch’s 2024 article reported that Astra, Rocket Lab, and Planet Labs had together raised over a billion dollars. That is a rounded figure from that article, not a current total.
Execution, setbacks, and the cost of getting to orbit
Space.com’s review emphasizes two things: the founders’ personalities and the rough, slow work of getting satellites into orbit. The film shows technical problems, launch mishaps, funding pressure, and tense moments in the control room. Viewers should expect the documentary to focus on what goes wrong as much as on what succeeds.
- Technical problems: the difficulty of making hardware work on the first real flight, as reviewers describe it.
- Launch mishaps: failures that test a young company’s ability to recover and keep investors and staff.
- Funding pressure: the constant need to raise capital before a rocket or satellite program proves itself.
- Control-room tension: the high-stakes moments when a team waits to learn whether a mission has succeeded.
Private control of space and the value of Earth imagery
The film’s larger question is who should own and operate space infrastructure. TechCrunch notes that the documentary raises questions about what it means when private companies own rockets and other space assets. It also asks whether wide access to commercial Earth-observation data is a net good for national security.
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Planet’s own material points to the environmental side of that debate. Its official film page highlights satellite imagery and the company’s interest in using satellites to address deforestation. The same imagery that helps track forests and land use can also raise privacy and security concerns, and the film puts both possibilities on screen rather than settling the policy question.
TechCrunch also connects satellite imagery and satellite communications to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an example of why space assets matter to governments and conflicts. That is the review’s discussion. It does not mean the film resolves how such assets should be regulated.
Planet’s July 2024 release includes a statement from co-founder and CEO Will Marshall: “I hope that this will inspire budding scientists and entrepreneurs to have ambition to use their skills to help address the biggest challenges facing the planet.” It is a company participant’s statement about the film’s purpose, not an independent assessment of Planet’s work.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to watch
- The film premiered on HBO on July 17, 2024, according to Warner Bros. Discovery’s release announcement.
- Planet’s official film page lists the title as available on Max. Streaming catalogs change by date and by country, so confirm the current listing in your region before you watch.
- Do not rely on third-party catalog listings for other services; they were not confirmed as current here.
Read the book that inspired it
The film draws on Ashlee Vance’s 2023 nonfiction book When the Heavens Went on Sale. It is the source inspiration named on Planet’s film page and in the reviews. The film is not a comprehensive adaptation of the book, so reading it gives more depth on the people and companies than the documentary can cover in 93 minutes. Current formats and prices were not confirmed for this article, so check your preferred retailer or library before buying.
What to take from the film
‘Wild Wild Space’ works best as a look at how the new space economy is built by a small number of founders under heavy financial and technical pressure. Its three companies do different jobs, and their shared history makes the rivalries personal. Treat the 2024 reviews as a guide to the film’s argument rather than to where each company stands now.
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