Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4

Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4 truly captures a powerful story. It explores a dream held by many. Far above our troubled world, a beacon of cooperation orbits the Earth. The International Space Station, or ISS, is more than a laboratory. For decades, it has been a symbol. It represents a fragile hope for unity. Inside this metal outpost, astronauts from all over the globe live and work. They share a tiny, manufactured home. They prove that humanity can cooperate.

Imagine floating to the cupola window. You look down. You see our planet. It hangs in the endless blackness. A fragile, swirling sphere of blue and white. There are no lines drawn on a map. You cannot see the borders that divide us. You see one single, shared home. You see thunderstorms flashing over continents. You see the thin, delicate film of our atmosphere.

This view strikes the heart. Astronauts often call it the “Overview Effect.” It is a profound, life-altering shift in awareness. Suddenly, the petty conflicts on the ground seem small. They seem distant. They even seem pointless. This episode of the series captures that powerful feeling. It delves into the human side of spaceflight.

We hear directly from the crews. Astronauts from over 14 different countries share their experiences. They lived together. They breathed the same recycled air. They shared their personal stories. They faced danger together. Consequently, they developed a powerful, special sense of belonging. They formed a unique connection.

In that orbital outpost, they are not rivals. They are not defined by their flags. They are, for a time, simply humans. They are Earthlings. A special family develops. This family is bound by a shared destiny. It is also bound by that spectacular, humbling view. The station becomes a microcosm. It is a tiny model of what humanity could be. If only we could all see the bigger picture.

But this fragile utopia is not isolated. It is tethered to Earth by the pull of gravity. It is also tethered by the pull of politics. The dream of space, as this episode shows, is complex. It is constantly shaken by the harsh realities on the ground. The ISS, for all its beauty, cannot escape the shadows of our world.

A major shift rocked this partnership. The iconic American Space Shuttle program was over. Those beautiful, winged orbiters were retired to museums. America, a nation that once walked on the moon, was grounded. The United States had invested billions in the ISS. It was a home in the sky.

Suddenly, the nation had a critical problem. They had a multi-billion dollar station. But they had no way to send their own people there. This created a jarring dependency. NASA needed a ride.

The only available taxi was Russian. The reliable, workhorse Soyuz rocket was the only option. Therefore, America had to buy seats. They paid their former Cold War rivals handsomely. They paid millions of dollars for a single seat. They paid for a lift to their own orbital home.

For a while, this new arrangement worked. It was practical. It was also a powerful symbol. It seemed to show that the space race was truly over. A new era of partnership had begun. The two greatest space powers were working together. Or so it seemed.

This partnership, however, was built on shifting sands. The political climate on Earth began to sour. In 2014, a major event shook the world. Russia annexed Crimea. This aggressive act sent ripples everywhere. Those ripples, inevitably, reached all the way to space.

The collaboration suddenly felt strained. How do you cooperate in orbit? How do you trust a partner? Especially when that partner is violating international law on Earth. The situation became deeply awkward. The astronauts themselves were caught in the middle. They had to maintain their professionalism. Yet, the tension was undeniable.

Then, the situation escalated dramatically. In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This was not a minor dispute. It was a brutal, major war. The entire world watched in horror. The foundations of international order were cracking.

Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4

This terrible act put the space partnership into a moral crisis. Serious, agonizing questions emerged. People started asking about the ethics of it all. Is it right to collaborate with Putin’s Russia? Should American dollars help fund Russia’s space agency? Especially when that money could indirectly support a war? The collaboration was no longer just practical. It was now deeply, painfully political.

The ISS became a symbol of this conflict. It was built as a place of peace. But it was operated by nations in open conflict. The irony was heartbreaking. The station’s mission was unity. The Earth it orbited was dividing. The dilemma for NASA and its partners was agonizing.

This crisis comes at a critical time. The International Space Station is aging. It has been orbiting our planet for decades. It is, itself, journeying towards the end of its life. The station will not last forever. Its days are numbered.

So, the historic partnership faces a dual threat. It is threatened by war on Earth. It is also threatened by the simple passage of time. The ISS is nearing its retirement. This forces a difficult conversation. What comes next?

We must ask about the future. Can we, or should we, collaborate on new space projects? The dream of international cooperation is beautiful. But the reality of geopolitics is harsh. The war in Ukraine has changed the equation. Trust, once the bedrock of the ISS, has been shattered.

Once Upon a Time in Space explores this tragic divide. It shows the incredible beauty of unity. It also shows the stark reality of our divisions. The ISS was a magnificent, hopeful chapter in human history. As it prepares to journey towards its end, we are left wondering. Was it a beautiful exception? Or was it a vital lesson we failed to learn?

Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4 review

The narrative of international cooperation in orbit, a central theme in Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4, began as a powerful symbol of post-Cold War optimism. For decades, the endeavor of space exploration was defined by a bitter rivalry between two superpowers. However, the fall of the Soviet Union created a new opportunity. This shift allowed for a new era focused on partnership rather than domination. The ultimate expression of this new ideal became the International Space Station, a project built on the promise of shared goals.

The International Space Station, or ISS, was designed to be a continuous human presence orbiting the Earth. Its objective was cooperation. Astronauts and cosmonauts who had trained to fight each other during the Cold War were now tasked with building a future together. One former F-16 pilot, Terry Virts, recounted joining the Air Force at seventeen specifically to defend Europe from the Russians. Years later, he found himself flying to space as part of a joint NASA-Russia crew, a testament to how much the world had changed.

This excitement for the ISS was palpable among its participants. The guiding motto became, “Off the Earth, for the Earth.” This venture, as explored in Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4, represented a belief in how people could and should work together. Yet, this new age of partnership would soon be tested. The retirement of America’s Space Shuttle fleet would ground the nation, forcing it to rely entirely on its former rival. Consequently, this dependence would collide with rising geopolitical tensions, threatening the very existence of the partnership, while the burgeoning field of commercial spaceflight raced to provide an alternative.

The collaboration was not just a political abstraction; it was a daily reality. The relationship between NASA and Russia, initiated after the Soviet Union’s fall, was built upon programs like Shuttle-Mir. A new Russian president promised reform and an end to corruption, fostering a great relationship with NASA. This partnership became the bedrock of the ISS and a significant chapter in nasa history. Astronauts and cosmonauts had to build trust and bridge very real language gaps, learning to work as a single, integrated team.

Aboard the station, this partnership flourished. Crews held international dinners, sharing Japanese, Russian, and even Alabama Creole food in zero gravity. The installation of the cupola, a seven-windowed module, became a favorite spot. Astronauts described it as “a new window that forever changed our view of Earth.” This shared perspective fostered deep emotional bonds. As this era of cooperation became a focus for many a space documentary, the crews truly believed they would be friends forever.

This unique partnership extended to the teams on the ground. The most critical human link was the Capsule Communicator, or CapCom, the single voice relaying information from Mission Control to the crew. This role was traditionally held only by astronauts. However, the complexity of the new space station demanded a new approach. This led to Ginger Kerrick becoming the first-ever non-astronaut to serve as a CapCom, chosen for her deep, in-depth knowledge of the new station’s systems.

The Human Link: Life as a CapCom

As CapCom, Kerrick was not just a technical voice; she was the crew’s primary link to Earth. She recalls being incredibly nervous on her first day. When the crew called down, her first time talking to space, the astronaut on the other end, Frank, immediately recognized her voice. He broke protocol to offer enthusiastic congratulations, a moment that highlighted the close-knit community. This personal connection was a key part of the job.

The role required a deep understanding of the crew’s psychology. Information had to be packaged differently for each crew member. Moreover, a key part of the job was keeping the crew entertained and connected to life on Earth. Kerrick explains this helped them thrive psychologically and avoid feeling isolated during their long missions. This included celebrating birthdays in space, which deserved a party just like on Earth.

For example, when Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka celebrated a birthday in orbit, Kerrick brought a stuffed crocodile named Gena to Mission Control. Gena is a beloved character from a Russian children’s story. She then learned the character’s special song in Russian and, to his delight, sang it to Gennady live from Houston. These small, human acts were essential for maintaining the health and morale of the international partnership.

Crisis in Orbit: Managing Tragedy from Earth

However, the CapCom role also involved the most difficult conversations. Kerrick confirms that sometimes, she had to be the one to deliver bad news. In December 2007, astronaut Daniel Tani was two months into his mission on the ISS. He was in the middle of a routine evening phone call with his wife, Jane, just before his scheduled sleep period. Suddenly, the CapCom’s voice interrupted the channel.

The CapCom informed Tani that they were setting up a private call for him on a separate channel. Tani knew immediately that this was dire news. Calls during the sleep period, especially private ones, meant something terrible had happened. He recalled being terrified that something had happened to his wife or children. He felt an immense sense of relief that he was already on the phone with Jane, knowing in that instant that she was safe.

Back in Houston, NASA’s flight doctor had called Jane Tani, asking her to come to Mission Control. She was brought into a small conference room where Dan was already on the screen. There, she had to tell her husband, floating 200 miles above Earth, that his 90-year-old mother had died. She had been hit by a train after driving around a lowered crossing gate.

Tani was the first American astronaut to grieve such a loss while in space. He noted that a Russian cosmonaut had previously lost his father, but the Russian program chose not to tell him for a year. NASA’s approach was different, but it came with immense challenges. Tani spent hours on the phone with his family, helping make arrangements. Yet, he was completely isolated from them. They could not hug, hold each other, or offer physical support.

There was no thought of bringing him home early; this was his mission. Instead, he recorded a video eulogy from the space station. Tani later reflected that if humanity is to live off-planet, all aspects of life will follow. This includes wonderful things, but also terrible ones. Nobody gets training for losing a parent, especially not in space.

The Peril of Disaster: Lessons from the Columbia

This profound human vulnerability was compounded by the inherent danger of spaceflight. The entire ISS program operated in the shadow of the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. One NASA employee recalled being at home on that Saturday morning. The shuttle landing was scheduled for around 7:00 a.m. Houston time. He turned on the NASA feed and knew the normal patter, and everything sounded great at first.

Then, he heard the call: “Columbia, Houston. Comm check.” He immediately sat up, sensing trouble. The situation escalated when Mission Control tried the backup system: “Columbia, Houston. Comm check on UHF.” This was the last resort. He knew it was bad news and immediately started getting dressed to go into the office. The feeling was dread.

In the Space Station Flight Control Room, others were listening on the loops. They could hear their counterparts in the Shuttle Room trying to call the crew and getting no answer. Meanwhile, they had CNN on in the control room and saw the ominous television pictures of the shuttle breaking up over Texas.

The most difficult task fell to the CapCom, who had to inform the ISS crew. Astronaut Ken Bowersox called down from the station, noting that by his watch, the crew should have landed. He asked, “How’s it going down there?” The Flight Director just shook her head. The CapCom had to reply, “Hey, there’s not going to be a landing today.” After a confused pause, he stated plainly, “There’s been an accident, a serious accident.” President George W. Bush soon announced the news to a shocked nation: “The Columbia’s lost. There are no survivors.”

The disaster had huge consequences for NASA. The agency had built six shuttles. They had already lost Challenger. Now, with Columbia, they had lost two. They could not afford to lose another. However, the shuttles were absolutely essential. At the time, they were only halfway through building the international space station and needed the shuttle fleet to finish the job.

A Precarious Gap: The End of the Shuttle Era

Despite the risks, the shuttle program pushed on to complete its mission. Terry Virts flew on STS-130, the final assembly flight for the ISS. His mission delivered Node 3 and the famous cupola, effectively finishing the station’s construction. Once that task was complete, the Space Shuttle program was scheduled for retirement. The final mission, Atlantis, marked the end of an era.

Ginger Kerrick, who was the last Flight Director certified on shuttle operations, watched the final landing from the viewing room at Mission Control. She described her feelings as a mix of simultaneous pride and concern. The pride came from the shuttle’s 30-year legacy. It was an incredible vehicle, and as Virts stated, “We’re never going to build anything like that again.”

The concern, however, was immediate and profound. With the shuttle’s retirement, the United States had no domestic launch capability. This proud, space-faring nation, the nation of John Glenn and the moon landing, could not get its own astronauts into orbit. America had lost a capability that every other country knew it possessed.

This vacuum in American space exploration did not go unnoticed. As the US grounded its fleet, other nations were ascendant. China sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space. India successfully launched a mission to the moon. Most significantly, China launched its own space laboratory, Tiangong-1, a direct rival to the international space station. It was, by all accounts, a low point for American human space flight and a troubling chapter in nasa history.

A New Reliance: Paying Russia for a Ride to Space

With the shuttle retired and new commercial options still years away, NASA was left with only one short-term solution. The agency had to pay Russia to fly American astronauts on the Russian Soyuz rocket. This arrangement was not cheap, costing the US government up to $90 million per seat. Soon after the final shuttle landed, the first American astronaut launched on a Soyuz, dependent on a Russian ride.

This decision was controversial. To some, it felt like an abandonment of America’s own space flight program. It violated a fundamental rule: you do not give up a critical capability before you have a replacement ready. This new reliance put the United States in a very precarious situation.

This dependency handed significant political leverage to Russia. For the first time, the ISS partnership was truly vulnerable to geopolitics on Earth. That vulnerability would be tested almost immediately.

Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4: Cracks in the Partnership

In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula. This act of aggression, a key event in Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4, sent shockwaves through the international community. For astronauts training together, it created a bizarre and tense environment. Terry Virts was in training for his ISS mission when the invasion happened. His own Russian crewmate, Anton Shkaplerov, was from Crimea and was enthusiastically supportive of the invasion, running around yelling, “Krym nash!” or “Crimea’s ours!”

Virts recalls being confused and “blinded” by the excitement of the partnership. He knew Russians and Ukrainians were deeply interconnected, with many families spanning both countries. He did not, at the time, understand the full magnitude of the situation. He was focused on his mission, excited to fly with his Russian partners.

The United States responded to the aggression with economic sanctions. One of the individuals sanctioned was Dmitry Rogozin, the new head of the Russian space program, Roscosmos. Rogozin was full of bluster. He openly threatened to revoke America’s ride to the ISS. In a famous public statement, he mocked the US, suggesting they “launch yourself on a trampoline.”

This created a jarring dichotomy for the astronauts. The same Dmitry Rogozin, “Mr. Trampoline,” who was publicly threatening to abandon American astronauts, was the very man who personally walked Terry Virts to his Soyuz rocket on launch day. It was a clear sign that the relationship was fracturing.

An Age of Innocence Ends: War Seen from the Cupola

The true turning point for Virts came in January 2015, during his mission on the ISS. He was in the cupola one night with Russian cosmonaut Sacha Samokutyaev. They were just looking out the windows, watching Europe pass by below them. As they flew over the eastern part of Ukraine, Virts saw something he could not believe.

He saw “little red flashes” on the ground. He and Sacha were watching bombs go off. They were watching artillery fire. Virts realized with horror, “We were literally watching people being killed on planet Earth.” They were watching Russians killing Ukrainians, live from 200 miles above.

It was a profound, poignant moment. Neither of them said a word. Virts remembers thinking that any normal human being would see this and conclude that it was terrible and should not be happening. For him, that was the moment “the age of innocence ended.”

He realized that the geopolitics on Earth, which had thus far been kept out of the station, were now going to infect the partnership. This was reinforced when, on another occasion, he floated into the Russian segment and saw a laptop left open. It was running software targeting Aviano Air Base, a US F-16 base in Italy, for photographic reconnaissance. Virts thought, “All right, this is not cool.” The trust was broken. He knew then that America desperately needed to launch its own astronauts and end its dependence on the Russian Soyuz.

The Commercial Solution and a New Space Race

That solution was already in development. The US government had taken a risk, entering into public-private partnerships with new commercial spaceflight companies. NASA was hoping these companies could take over the job of flying cargo and, eventually, astronauts to the ISS. The company furthest along was SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.

This strategy faced significant resistance from within the establishment. NASA was skittish about headlines from failures or explosions. Esteemed NASA legends, like Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan, testified before Congress against commercial spaceflight, calling the plan a “pledge to mediocrity.” Musk later said he was deeply saddened to see his heroes “casting stones” in his direction.

Despite the skepticism, SpaceX pushed forward. In 2020, “the year that everything changed,” the company succeeded. The Demo-2 mission launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley from US soil. It was the first time an American crew had launched from America in nearly a decade. It was also the first time in history a private company had put astronauts into orbit.

The launch was a massive victory. Kristin Fisher, the reporter who had covered the final shuttle launch, was now at the White House covering this new beginning. After the successful launch, Elon Musk and the NASA administrator were asked about Dmitry Rogozin. Musk simply smiled and said, “The trampoline is working.” This critical milestone for space exploration was, in retrospect, “incredibly lucky.” It restored American launch independence just two years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4: The Partnership Unravels

The 2022 invasion, a grim focal point of Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4, changed everything. As the world responded with crushing sanctions, the Kremlin, via Rogozin, again threatened to end cooperation on the ISS. The rhetoric escalated. In a shocking political stunt, Russian cosmonauts unfurled a Soviet flag during a spacewalk, a “terrible thing” that harkened back to the Cold War.

For the NASA employees who had built their lives around this partnership, the war was devastating. Ginger Kerrick described her “stomach churn” as she heard anti-Russian rhetoric. She knew the people she worked with, her friends, were not the ones who had declared war. She worried, “Is this going to destroy what we created?”

For Terry Virts, the invasion was the final straw. He confirms that all of the personal relationships he had built with his Russian colleagues have ended. He feels angered and profoundly disappointed. His feelings now are a complete reversal from the optimism he felt at the start of his career.

In a striking admission, Virts, a former ISS commander who launched on a Soyuz, now says, “I hope the cooperation ends.” He acknowledges it is a “crazy thing to say” but adds, “here we are.” The future of the partnership looks bleak. The ISS is scheduled to be de-orbited in 2030. According to both Virts and Kerrick, there are no new cooperative programs planned with Russia. This is likely the end. As the narrative of this potential space documentary shifts, all signs point to a new space race, not with Russia, but with China.

A Fading Utopia

Ginger Kerrick reflects on this impending end with sadness. She hopes it is not the end, lamenting that “everything that we’ve learned in all these years” might just go to waste. She, and others like her, still cling to the promise the ISS once represented. “Just think about what we could do together on the moon, or going to Mars,” she muses.

But she is a realist. “I know that’s not the world we live in,” she concedes. You turn on the news and see horrid things happening everywhere. World leaders, she notes, are not interested in things that benefit the human race; they are interested in things that benefit their nation.

“But for a little while,” she says, “I lived in a world that didn’t operate that way, and it was beautiful.” People used to make fun of her for living in a “utopia bubble,” but she and her colleagues proved it was possible. Any of them who lived that life believe there is more humanity can accomplish together. It is hard to explain, but it was real. “I lived it,” she insists. “It happened.”

FAQ Once Upon a Time in Space episode 4