SEASON 1: ROCKET MEN MOGULS Is a Documentary Series Profiling the Most Impactful Thoughtleaders in the World Who Are the Changemakers of the Future
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MOGULS SEASON 1: ROCKET MEN MOGULS is a documentary series profiling the most impactful thoughtleaders in the world who are the changemakers of the future. SEASON 1 LOGLINE In the new age of adventure capitalism, the world’s richest billionaires, not nation states, will pioneer humanities quest for exploration amongst the stars. SUMMARY It’s been 45 years since man last walked on the moon and the space race slowed to a crawl . The Apollo missions were described as the last great optimistic act of the 20th century, and then was followed by an era of public indifference. But we stand at the dawn of a new space era, which is defined more by commercial gain and personal vanity. Space is no longer the exclusive playground of nation states, tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Paul Allen, Richard Branson have joined the game. They dream of space tourism, almost instant worldwide travel, asteroid mining, mars colonization and more. This is the new space race, pioneered by billionaire ROCKET MEN AT FUTURISM, WE COVER ROCKET LAUNCHES... NOT IPHONE LAUNCHES SEASON 1 FORMAT Rocket Men is a 6 part series that blends the best elements of documentary filmmaking with cutting-edge visual effects that visual our inevitable futures. Our story will follow the Space Race from day one, giving backstory and context to our ambitions and attitudes in America. Flashing forward to present day, we will focus in on todays current pioneers who are financing the next evolution of the space race, this time, pitting ambitious billionaires with deep pockets and deeper ego’s for humanities benefit. We will track their stories, sometimes in real time, so our audiences can feel the real life drama, high stakes and mind blowing visuals we’ve never experienced first hand before. EPISODE BREAKDOWN Episode 1: The “Space Race” Soon after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a global conflict pitting democracy against communism. Space became a critical theater in this Cold War, as each side competed to best the other’s achievements in what became known as the “Space Race”. With their countries reputations and potential future at stake, the US vowed to pioneer space technology and be first to the moon. In this episode we cover the history and context that fueled the Space Race leading us ultimately to the second generation of space pioneers, the Rocket Moguls Episode 2: Death and Rebirth The US has declared victory, yet the race continues. But who can win a race no one is competing in? This “Dark age” in space innovation almost screeches to a halt after a series of misfires, including the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. But from the ashes rises the Phoenix, and rebirth is upon us. Several billionaires throw their hats in the ring; including Richard Branson, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos. With Yuri Milner and Paul Allen shortly to follow. Whether they all knew it or not, Space Race 2.0 has begun. Episode 3: Fueling the Fire The new age of adventure capitalism is here, and our modern day moguls have taken center stage. This billion dollar endeavor has become more than just a business to Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos who now exchange competitive and borderline hostile tweets, prompting cries of a space rivalry. Meanwhile, Richard Branson promises space flights to all and sells tickets to anyone who can afford a $200,000 flight. Yuri Milner and Stephan Hawking reveal their unique approach for mankind, while Paul Allen ups the ante with the world’s largest airplane. Space Race 2.0 is about to take off, and the public has no idea what they are in store for. EPISODE BREAKDOWN CONT. Episode 4: Failures and failures. In 2014, after numerous Virgin Galactic delays, the SpaceShipTwo experimental spaceflight test vehicle suffered a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashed in the Mohave Desert, killing one pilot. Branson vows Virgin Galactic will recover from the setback. Meanwhile, ElonMusk announces he will put the first man on Mars, further stoking the rivalry between him and Bezos. Bezos promises he will sell and put forth $1 billion of Amazon stock each year into Blue Origin, while also buying large chunks of land off the Texas and Florida Coasts, investing further in his hopeful success. Episode 5: Space Coast Booms (literally) The Space Coast has seen growth unlike they have seen since the original space race, with engineers, mathematicians and rocket scientists flooding the region for new, high paying jobs. SpaceX lands two Falcon Heavy Rockets side by side in the unprecedented feat, making every international news top story. Blue Origin, behind in technological capabilities, responds by landing its rocket for the first time. On the other side of America, Paul Allen prepares test flights for the Stratolaunch, edging closer to its initial voyage in 2019. Future potential is high, with SpaceX and Blue Origin scheduling almost one rocket launch per week in 2018, an idea that seemed impossible only a few years ago. Episode 6: To the Future and Beyond Billions if not Trillions of dollars have been invested in humanities future tied to our inevitable exploration of the stars. Although these dreams are not yet realized, the plans are well on their way. Assuming our technology will advance at current trends, we will see the first man on Mars in our lifetime. Not to mention vacations to the Moon, 35 minute LA to Tokyo rocket flights and even the mining of asteroids. We will dive further into these concepts and visualize to our audience how they will exist in the near future. THE SETUP Soon after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union became locked in a global conflict pitting democracy against communism. Space became a critical theater in this Cold War, as each side competed to best the other’s achievements in what became known as the Space Race. On October 4, 1957, a Soviet R-7 intercontinental ballistic missile launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite and the first man-made object to be placed into the Earth’s orbit. Sputnik’s launch came as a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to most Americans. In the United States, space was seen as the next frontier, a logical extension of the grand American tradition of exploration, and a symbolic war they didn’t want to lose. In 1958, the U.S. launched its own satellite, Explorer I, designed by the U.S. Army under the direction of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun. That same year, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a public order creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a federal agency dedicated to space exploration. “We choose to go to the Moon THE SETUP (cont) in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, Then, in May 1961 President John F. Kennedy made the bold, public claim that the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of but because they are hard...” the decade. In February 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, and by the end of that year, the foundations of NASA’s lunar landing program–dubbed Project Apollo–were in place. December 1968 saw the launch of Apollo 8, the first manned space mission to orbit the moon, from NASA’s massive launch facility on Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral, Florida. On July 16, 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins set off on the Apollo 11 space mission, the first lunar landing attempt. After landing successfully on July 20, Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon’s surface; he famously called the moment “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” By landing on the moon, the United States effectively “won” the space race that had begun with Sputnik’s launch in 1957. From beginning to end, the American public’s attention was captivated by the space race, and the various developments by the Soviet and U.S. space programs were heavily covered in the national media. This frenzy of interest was further encouraged by the new medium of television. Astronauts came to be seen as the ultimate American heroes, and earth-bound men and women seemed to enjoy living vicariously through them. SPACE RACE 1950 - PRESENT DAY 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s 90’s 1957 - Russia launches 1957 - Russia launches 1971 - First space station 1986 - Space Shuttle 1995 - First Orbit of Soviet R-7, world’s first Soviet R-7, world’s first established Challenger disaster Jupiter satellite and first man satellite and first man made object launched made object launched 1975 - Infamous “hand- into Orbit into Orbit shake in space” signi- fying US and Russian 1958 - NASA Founded 1957 - Space Race improvement on relations by President Eisenhower officially begins 1957 - Space Race 1958 - NASA Founded officially begins by President Eisenhower 1959 - First photograph 1959 - First photograph of Earth from Orbit of Earth from Orbit 2000’s 2010 - SpaceX Dragon Space- 2004 - Sir Richard 2000 - Jeff Bezos founds 2001 - First landing on 2002 - Elon Musk founds 2008 - Falcon 1 reaches craft capsule returns from ISS, Branson founds Virgin Blue Origin an Asteroid Space-X space making it the first time a private Galactic spacecraft returned from orbit 2011 - Paul Allen 2015 - Space-X lands 2016 - Yuri Milner & ste- 2016 - Blue Origin lands 2017 - Space-X re-uses a 2017 - Blue Origin 2017 - Stephen Hawking announces Stratolaunch Falcon 9 rocket, prov- phen Hawking announce its New Shepherd rocket rocket for the first time launches “mannequin says “I am convinced that Systems ing rockets can now be Breakthrough Starshot successfully Skywalker” into space