Customer Reviews

Orphans of Apollo

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I give Michael Potter three stars just for recognizing and choosing to attempt to document this story. The subtitle "The Greatest Space Story Never Told" is appropriate. I can't believe I had never heard of this, and had to order the DVD as soon as I came across it. However, Potter missed a prime opportunity to educate future space entrepreneurs.

Instead of trying to expose and discuss the flaws in thinking and execution that caused MirCorp to fail, the film focuses on glamorizing the "rebel alliance of entrepreneurs". Hip phrases such as "anarcho-capitalist" and romantic depictions of pirate flags abound. It would be great to see a real business documentary on this subject, a la [....] or Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. For now, those who wish to succeed where MirCorp failed will have to extract the key issues themselves.

Michael Potter makes a compelling argument over the importance of privatizing space through the story of MirCorp - a band of private space industry rebels determined to lease the Soviet Union's Mir Space Station and turn it into the most accessible and therefore valuable piece of real estate beyond our atmosphere. This documentary invoked the feeling that humans should have no boundaries. We are capable of understanding how the universe inherently works and we have the right to explore it privately. Giving the greater population a creative mechanism for reaching space will spawn new discoveries and can only help our species further improve our condition and our understanding of ourselves, our planet, and our position within the universe. To me, imagine what a child would think if he or she were to see the earth from the bay window of a spacecraft like Mir....how would this motivate them to savor their home planet, study it and preserve it for future generations? Michael hit the ball out of the park by demonstrating that there are people bold and brave enough to dream the impossible dream, to reach for unreachable stars, to show humanity how important it is think outside of the box for we are an uncontainable species. Giving mankind inexpensive access to space and giving him/her a habitat/lab for advancing science, i.e. biological research, is the first critical step to increasing the frequency of new discoveries and accessing the rest of the universe. The forces underlying the private sector are strong enough to exponentially dilate the space channel once it is open and available to the public. I look forward to the day when cheap space is mainstream and commend the members of MirCorp for their vision and Michael Potter for eloquently telling their exciting story. God Speed.

I enjoyed this video, as it is an entertaining look at one of the earliest episodes in space business. It is nothing less audacious than purchasing the not-so-gently-used Mir Space Station from the Russians. The Ex-Soviets seemed to have a better grasp of free-market economics than NASA. NASA, on the other hand seems to be more interested in protecting their empire than expanding humanity into the cosmos. Imagine an organization run jointly by Major MajorCatch-22 and Darth VaderStar Wars Trilogy, and you have a pretty good idea at how NASA is portrayed. In the end, the Mir ended up in the ocean, but this did not deter our plucky brand of Rebels.
What is interesting to me is that I have heard first hand from many of the primary characters, including Rick TumlinsonReturn to the Moon (Apogee Books Space Series). In fact, part of the video was shot at ISDC 1997, in Milwaukee. I was at the event being taped( we were still using VHS tapes at the time.)
In the near future, when privately run spaceflights will be champagne affairs, it will be refreshing to remember the Red Bull days.

I have been a Documentary fan for many years. I can't believe I didn't hear about this when it happened in the late 90's. Orphans of Apollo was a fascinating look at a group of ambitious capitalists who attempted to privatize space by leasing the Russian Space station MIR. This Documentary has a wealth of archival and insider footage which add to the dramatic situations in the film and excellent interviews with the guys who lived it.

In a few days the Russians will be launching their first major mission beyond LEO... beating all others at a sample return from Mars moon Phobos. Ain't it funny and sad and Much Like NASA Did It To Mir in this film that right at the time it looked like Russians were actually going to do somthing revolutionary NASA and ESA are teaming up to make Roscosmos a "full partner" of the ExoMars project? Russia is going to do what America has been saying for years and years... so all of a sudden they are being browbeaten into putting up a Proton AND hundreds of millions on this next Ming Vase science for science sake waste of time mission too. Standard Operating Procedure... when you see Griffin in this movie talking about how he just wanted Russia to live up to its bargain on the ISS but we all knew that it really meant he wanted them to get tied up in the ISS fiasco, look at what NASA and the ESA are tring to do now. I say this time Russia says "NYET!" and puts us Americans into the awkward position of having to face the realities of NASA's tax-vampire tradition. Humans to Asteroids in 2025... yeah right, ExoMars has not a single experiment in any way related to future HUMAN missions so where's the link to the supposed Major Goal Bolden keeps talking up? NASA-ESA has no intention of HUMANS going anywhere, but Russia creating the beachhead on Phobos puts them in the leadership seat for HUMANS to follow. This time around it is US who needs their money, and they don't need us.

Seeing this movie several times over the past few years has made some things much clearer.

Because of my limited knowledge of modern day space exploration, I did not know what to expect when I saw this film. After viewing it, I knew it wasn't just "another space documentary". It was deeper than that. It was in my words, a "space age gangster flik". I say this because the whole concept of pushing the envelope and successfully launching a privately funded space station under the radar of NASA & the government was just too smooth! Plopping down huge amounts of cash , putting it all on the line for the sake of introducing space travel to the masses. All of this & doing so "privately" without government intervention... well that was the plan. What a concept!

Michael Potter's vision was truly multidimensional. Throughout the movie there was a consistent layer of "techie & science" but underneath the veil lies the real concept..
Space entrepreneurs, space geeks, conspiracy theorists, or just curious, all have a place enjoying this film & I recommend it for your viewing.

A fascinating story for any audience, but especially a must see for all entrepreneurs in the world, wether working in space or not. So many lessons learned. Space is not an easy business. Potter has captured a unique moment in history so incredible, yet known to so few.

I bought this movie after seeing a special screening of it at a Space Frontier Foundation event. It tells the story about how Space Station Mir almost got bought and turned into an American entrepreneurial startup company.

Excellent characters, very little slow spots...all around VERY entertaining. Great for entrepreneurs to discover what's actually possible, and to learn from their mistakes.

If you ever wondered what happened to the exploration of space, this compelling documentary on an attempt by a group of space cowboys to keep it going will open your eyes. We've always thought that space travel, space stations and the like are things that big governments do, but this film shows that it need not be so. Remember the scenes in the movie "Contact", where the billionaire played by John Hurt buys the Mir space station? Well this did actually happen. A group of American millionaires/entrepreneurs/space enthusiasts actually negotiated with the Russians to buy their space station, and use it for all sorts of interesting things - that is until NASA got wind of the plan, and pulled the rug.
The story of how this was conceived, planned, executed and ultimately scuppered makes for a fascinating tale, that is told with excellent dramatic pace. Director Michael Potter, who it seems has not directed before, has produced an outstanding documentary movie that educated, entertained and intrigued this viewer, and others that I have spoken to. With a mixture of interviews, actual footage of negotiations with the Russians, and animation the story is told in a compelling way.
Even if you are unsure about the elements of conspiracy that are revealed as the story unfolds, there is so much here that even space enthusiasts would not know about that it has to be seen. Congratulations to all involved, and in particular to the director who pulls off the difficult trick of capturing interviews without having the questions turn up on camera. This give the movie a pace and dramatic feel that makes its 50 minutes just fly by.

Orphans of Apollo is well worth the purchase price for the DVD. I have already had the pleasure of sharing it with friends and college students who all have enjoyed learning about the American private sector effort to commercialize the aging Mir Space Station prior to its demise. While admittedly, I am a so-called 'Space Greek' and a political scientist, this DVD is vitally important for space history. The 'space ceiling' of government was broken by a commercial venture as this DVD clearly denotes. Perhaps the documentary could have been done better as others may suggest but the must-tell story was told nonetheless. I have come to know Rick Tumlinson, James Muncy and others in commercial space ventures interviewed in the documentary but only after this heroic and determined effort to commercialize a unique space asset.

While the commercial space venture was not a business success in the end, I believe (as many do) that this episode in space history opened the private citizens to Low Earth Orbit. In a larger DVD documentary that may come as time marches forward, the story of the Mir Corporation will be told and retold to anyone who really wants to know the true story of human space history and international space politics.

Therefore, I proudly rate the documentary DVD highly and recommend to readers of this review the small purchase and investment of time to view it. I wholeheartly believe you will find it worth it. The DVD certainly caused me to want to understand Walt Anderson's plight.

IF you do purchase it, I do recommend that you watch the slighty more lengthy special feature.