Rocket launches are coming to Netflix

Time to see how realistic space movies actually are: Netflix and NASA this week announced a partnership that will allow users of the streaming platform to tune into rocket launches, astronaut spacewalks, mission coverage, and views from the International Space Station.

• The livestreamed channel is expected to hit 300+ million Netflix home screens sometime this summer.
• Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Shooting for the m👀n

News of the partnership comes as NASA is embarking on the PR version of a popular center-focused football play that haters outside of Philly recently tried to ban (a publicity push), with the goal of securing as many eyeballs as possible.

The space agency inked similar deals with Amazon Prime Video and France’s TF1 broadcast network earlier this year. NASA, which will continue to host the content on its app and website for free, also launched a streaming service in 2023.

“We’ll take budget cut for $6.1 billion, pls, Ken”: These recent big-screen maneuvers are underpinned by a looming budget cut, which would return NASA funding to a level not seen since 1961, the dawn of American human spaceflight. Meanwhile, the annual number of objects launched into space by the US has spiked (s/o to the commercial space industry), reaching a record 2,263 in 2024—a far cry from the 95 launched in 2014.