'Among the Stars' Astronauts Forced to Abort Mission in Sneak Peek From Disney+ Series
Disney+ takes viewers to a fictional galaxy far, far away all the time, but this week's new series will give viewers a look at much closer space sights. Among the Stars is a six-part series that follows NASA astronaut Capt. Chris Cassidy on his last mission. The first episode will be released on Wednesday, Oct. 6, and PopCulture.com is sharing a sneak preview clip that reveals some of the problems astronauts may face in outer space.
The clip shows Cassidy working with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano to fix some equipment on the International Space Station in 2020. Everything is going well, and even ahead of schedule, giving Cassidy and Parmitano a chance to take in the beautiful views of Earth from above. Unfortunately, Parmitano felt water coming into his helmet, and they were forced to abort the mission. Since water was getting into Parmiano's eyes, the crew back on Earth asked him to head back inside for his safety.
Among the Stars focuses on NASA's mission to fix a $2 billion science experiment, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), which scientists hope will show how the universe began. Cassidy, a Navy Seal Captain, has to complete a series of complex spacewalks to fix the equipment as his last mission. Viewers are also introduced to Parmitano; rookie NASA astronaut Drew Morgan; NASA flight director Emily Nelson; AMS spacewalk tools manager Heather Bergman; Nobel Prize-winning professor Samuel Ting; and AMS project manager Ken Bollweg.
The series also gives viewers a close look at how space agencies around the world operate and work together to make sure the ISS is operating. Viewers will see how things work at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as the European Space Agency in Cologne, France; the Japanese Aerospace Agency near Tokyo; and the Russian Space Agency in Star City. Even though Cassidy's mission is also in space, the series also shows how the COVID-19 pandemic has a surprising impact on the operation.
Among the Stars was produced by Fulwell 73 Productions and directed by Ben Turner. The executive producers are Gabe Turner, Leo Pearlman, Will Gluck and Richard Schwartz. New episodes are released on Wednesdays.