James May at the Edge of Space

2009
7.9| 0h30m| NA| en| More Info
Released: 20 June 2009 Released
Producted By: BBC
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lc5ph
Info

James May always wanted to be an astronaut. Now, 40 years after the first Apollo landings, he gets a chance to fly to the edge of space in a U2 spy plane. But first he has to undergo three gruelling days of training with the US Air Force and learn to use a space suit to stay alive in air so thin it can kill in an instant. He discovers that during the flight there are only two people higher than him, and they are both real astronauts on the International Space Station.

Genre

Documentary

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Cast

James May

Director

Paul King

Production Companies

BBC

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James May at the Edge of Space Audience Reviews

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
jeffchan If you at all like flying or space, this is a must see. The main problem is that it seems unavailable except in pirated form on YouTube, etc. BBC, or whoever owns the rights, please sell it in HD! May's flight to the edge of space in a U2 haunts with its beauty, enchants with its musings, and thrills with its adventure.Technically James was the passenger in a two seat U2 flown by an American Air Force pilot. Both men wore pressurized flight suits similar to what astronauts wear, and the views were absolutely incredible. I'm sure the HD cameras barely captured the actual impact of the views from the cockpit, yet they were otherworldly.Airliners at their highest altitude, for example, passed far below them as they transited California parallel the Pacific Ocean on their way up to altitude. The U2 was flown from Beale Air Force Base north of Sacramento California, and the film includes suiting up, flight briefings, what to do if you get an itch inside the suit, etc.
Prismark10 In James May at the Edge of Space, May gets a chance to fly in a U2 spy plane at 70,000 feet above Earth. It is technically space as you can see the curvature of the earth and the dark space above.What is more he does not have to risk going on one of these expensive Richard Branson Galactic test craft.You see May in training for this adventure, having a medical, having problems with the helmet and telling us the history of the early days of these very high altitude spy planes and the space race.May gives us tips on how to pee into a tube and how to eat apple pie through a straw. However the most emotional part of this short documentary for both us and him is when the U2 reaches 70,000 feet and May realises that he is at the edge of space.A truly great moment for him as he really does not know what to say and you can see in his face that he has done something remarkable that will stay with him for the rest of his life.In contrast the early part of the documentary is rather plain.