Black Sky: Race for Space

Black Sky: Race for Space chronicles the first great aeronautical feat of the 21st century—Burt Rutan`s reinvention of space travel in the form of a privately funded, X-prize winning modern aircraft, SpaceShipOne. Rutan has been called the man who reinvented the airplane. His aeronautical output is astounding; over the past three decades, he has produced one new research airplane per year. Black Sky: Race for Space follows Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites as they build SpaceShipOne and chase the elusive X Prize, a $10 million award given to the first private manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 328,000 feet twice within a 14-day period. Executive producers Richard Hutton and Stephen Reverend teamed up with producers/directors Gail Willumsen, Sandy Guthrie, Jill Shinefield, and Scott B, and director Bonnie Benjamin-Phariss to document one man’s race for space. Written by Scott B and Sandy Guthrie, Black Sky: Race for Space begins with the concept and development for SpaceShipOne and ends with the first successful ascent into space in this revolutionary craft. Viewers are taken along for the ride via special cameras mounted inside and outside the space plane so they, too, can experience the thrills and terror of reaching into the black sky. For an inspirational look inside one man’s dream, Black Sky: Race for Space receives a Peabody Award.