Sky fast-tracks HBO’s Wild Wild Space film - featuring Rocket Lab and Sir Peter Beck

Wild Wild Space, produced by HBO Documentaries and Steven Spielberg's Amblin and directed by Oscar-winner Ross Kaufman, includes some choice footage of Sir Peter Beck's early days. Still / HBO

Sky says it’s fast-tracking HBO’s new docu-movie featuring Rocket Lab and Sir Peter Beck. It will stream on Neon from July 19, shortly after its US debut.

Driven by Bloomberg journalist Ashlee Vance, Wild Wild Space is structured around the premise that we’re in the midst of a revolution in space. The era of Governments’ controlling space is slipping in favour of a private, Wild West-style land grab - or, at least, aerospace grab.

And as one interviewee says in the trailer (below), “The fabric of our civilisation runs on satellites. There is a lot of money to be made up there ... and whoever controls space, may very well control the future of humanity.”

Wild focuses on two leaders of private space firms who stand in competition to Elon Musk’s far larger Space:X: Rocket Lab founder Sir Peter Beck and Astra founder Chris Kemp (which is rather flattering to Kemp, it has to be said. Rocket Lab recently celebrated its 50th launch and has a burgeoning spacecraft business, while the Silicon Valley-based Astra only has two successful flights from nine attempts).

Kemp has the smooth tech entrepreneur patter. Beck offers a few salty lines (sample: “I’m not built to build shit”).

The trailer indicates the doco doesn’t stint from the private space players’ frequent focus on military and surveillance cargo.

“Space is now open for business. Nothing is riding on this, except things like our right to privacy. There are commercial companies, that have nothing to do with Governments, snapping pictures day after day, and power over the world falling into the wrong hands. So now you have thousands of satellites which themselves are potentially weapons,” it says.

But there’s nothing to make Rocket Lab blanch.

Made with Steven Spielberg's Amblin, Adam McKay's Hyperobject, ZPZ and Academy Award winning director Ross Kauffman, it's my pleasure to present the trailer for Wild Wild Space coming to @StreamOnMax, @HBO, @HBODocs on July 17th https://t.co/Ud5MkALurQ pic.twitter.com/NbFd0rZwd0

— Ashlee Vance (@ashleevance) July 8, 2024

“We’ve seen the film, it’s great and we think Kiwi audiences will enjoy it immensely. It’s the most detailed behind-the-scenes look at Rocket Lab that has been shared on screen to date,” Rocket Lab mar-comms VP Morgan Connaughton told the Herald.

While the Kiwi-American firm has a fully-owned subsidiary dedicated to military and spy agency work - Rocket Lab National Security LLC - Beck earlier said he only supported technology trials and drew the line at military-operational launches. The founder has also pointed out that many dual-use technologies have emerged from defence, that are now central to our everyday lives. GPS is one. The internet is another.

Last year saw the publication of Vance’s book, When the Heavens Went on Sale, which included a chronicle of Beck’s early days, from growing up in Invercargill to becoming a Fisher & Paykel apprentice and deciding to skip varsity in favour of founding his own rocket company. Wild Wild Space features some choice archival footage of a youthful Beck.

While you’re waiting for HBO’s film, check out the Herald’s exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of Rocket Lab’s milestone 50th launch.

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.