Thursday, March 13, 2014

Previewing Live From Space



If you cannot get enough of outer space from Fox’s Cosmos reboot the channel that is re-airing that show is also going live in the final frontier tomorrow. But where Cosmos features Neil DeGrasse Tyson traveling around in a CGI spaceship, Live From Space, starting at 8:00, lives up to the title. Sure there will be some pre-taped segments (ever wanted to know why astronauts eat freeze dried food; you will find out) and you will see that in space sweating can become fatal because it can cause you to drown, which happened on the current mission. Below is the full press release on the event (the guy at right will be watching) including how you can get involved by asking questions to the astronauts that will be answered live on air. And if you want even more Live From Space while watching, head over to LiveFromSpace.com for a second screen experience.

Produce a live television event from a $100 billion studio that’s 250 miles above the Earth’s surface and traveling at 4.9 miles per second? That will be the task at hand this spring for National Geographic Channel (NGC) Worldwide with a television event that will literally take viewers beyond the stratosphere.

Live From Space, a spectacular, groundbreaking two-hour television event from Arrow Media, will be broadcast live from the International Space Station (ISS) and NASA Mission Control in Houston on Friday, March 14, 2014, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Celebrated journalist, producer and television host Soledad O’Brien will host and co-executive produce. Lexus is the presenting sponsor of Live from Space.

With unique access to and footage from the ISS and Mission Control, we’ll go into orbit with astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata from the ISS, while astronaut Mike Massimino (most notably known for fixing the Hubble Telescope) will keep us grounded with O’Brien live from Houston. Live From Space will air on NGC in 170 countries, and on Channel 4 in the U.K. It will simulcast on NGC’s Spanish-language network in the U.S., Nat Geo MUNDO.

The ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes, meaning NGC will quite literally take viewers on a trip around the world. We’ll see incredible shots of the planet, from sunset and sunrise, to city lights and green aurora, to lightning storms and shooting stars.

For those fascinated by the recent emergency spacewalks to replace a vital cooling system, Live From Space will show even more intimately what it takes to run this floating world. From space, Mastracchio and Wakata will give viewers a fully guided tour, showing us how they live for months in microgravity. In their own words, learn how they sleep upside down, stay fit, maintain personal hygiene and, of course (that question everyone is always curious about), how they use the toilet. They’ll conduct never-before-broadcast experiments that demonstrate the real-world value of the science conducted on the floating laboratory. We’ll also show how science in space is benefiting people on Earth such as the ISS’s robotic systems, which are the inspiration for a neurosurgical robot that removes brain tumors. Astronauts, flight controllers and researchers will be featured in original segments from the ISS and Mission Control during the course of the two-hour live event.

It won’t just be O’Brien asking the questions, either. Viewers are encouraged to post a video question on Instagram using #HelloFromEarth, and a few of those video questions will be sent to the ISS to receive a personal video response from the astronauts during the March 14 live broadcast. For those who are stumped on a question but still want to show the astronauts their appreciation, photos of a simple wave hello, using the same hashtag, will be part of the Live From Space community on the interactive website and second screen experience. A first-of-its-kind second screen experience will also allow viewers to track the space station while exploring the interests of people under its path. This “social-media telescope” will give viewers real-time insight into the collected cares of Earth’s inhabitants.

“Every day at NGC our team tries to reach for the stars,” says NGC President Howard T. Owens. “Now we are literally able to do it! We are honored to have secured such amazing access to the station and the astronauts living there, and are exhilarated by the tremendous challenge to show Earth … live.”

“We’re thrilled to be making this unique event for NGC Worldwide,” adds Arrow Media’s creative director, Tom Brisley. “The technological and logistical challenges of broadcasting live from space may be enormous, but there’s no bigger buzz than creating mind-blowing content that works in micro gravity, on the world’s largest spacecraft!”

Live From Space follows the premiere of the highly anticipated COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey earlier in the week on Sunday, March 9, at 10 p.m. on 10 U.S. networks including Fox, National Geographic Channel, FX, FXX, FXM, FOX Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo Mundo and Fox Life. COSMOS: A Spacetime Odyssey will also air on Monday, March 10, on National Geographic Channel with bonus content and behind the scenes footage. Live From Space premieres Friday, March 14.

After more than 50 years of manned space flights, Live From Space will launch cable television into orbit with an event that is not to be missed.

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