Based in Western Australia and revisiting true-history events from the 1970s, Disney+ series Last Days Of The Space Age has been eagerly anticipated by TV lovers.
Starring some of Australia’s best and brighest stars (as well as some huge international names) Last Days Of The Space Age is described as a retro dramedy which revisits the days US space station Skylab crashed just outside of Perth, Western Australia as the city celebrated the iconic Miss Universe pageant.
So what can you expect? Read on for everything you need to know…
Where can I watch Last Days Of The Space Age?
Having dropped on October 2, Disney+, the entire eight episodes are available now to marathon watch. Strap in!
What is Last Days Of The Space age about?
Set in 1979, the show opens at a dramatic time in Australian history. The Western Australian capital of Perth is about to be plunged into darkness thanks to a looming power strike – just as it is hosting the Miss Universe pageant, soemthign the whole world will have eyes on. Meanwhile just outside the city an unmanned space station is about to plummet to earth…
As the action unfolds, three families in a tight-knit coastal community are finding that their friendships, marriages and even futures, are about to be put to the ultimate test.
The show was filmed in Perth as well as in Sydney and Wollongong.
What was Skylab?
When the US launched their first space station Skylab into the orbit on May 14, 1973, it was one of the biggest things ever fired into space – at 30.2 metres in length, 6.7 metrers in diameter and with a mass of a whopping 77,000kg. Intended to be a long-term crewed platform in space – to prove humans could live and work there for extended periods of time – it was also planned to be used by astronauts to study and expand knowledge of the sun and solar astronomy.
But during its ascent, there was a problem. An important thermal meteoriod shield was ripped off, meaning the original crew were forced to perform a workaround while orbiting 435km above the Earth’s surface. At the same time a solar-array wing partly deployed with the second stage retro rockets blowing it into space.
Luckily, the craft remained operational despite being at less than 50 per cent of its designed electrical section, and three crews – each with three members apiece – would live and work on Skylab for 171 days and 13 hours; performing over 300 experiments. Also the first space station to receive resupply ships, Skylab set a slew of new records and gained worldwide attention.
How did Skylab crash?
The final Skylab crew returned to Earth on February 8, 1974. After checks, Skylab was moved to a position for reentry to earth – its orbit expected to decay over around a 10 year period. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite to plan.
While the space station remained stable for about eight years, it made an unexpected descent with the world beneath in fear of where it would land. NASA had lost control and while the plan was for it to land in the Indian Ocean, the vessel broke up – if the debris hit a city the impact was unthinkable.
As Perth braced itself, the most debris would land over south-western Australia, with people in the sparsely populated region declaring it looked like “the fireworks display from the Royal Easter Show.”
Locals and travellers alike searched for pieces of the Skylab – including Miss America (who was there for the Miss Universe pageant) – and while a young teen in Esperance snaffled a worldwide prize for being the first to locate a chunk, the local council fined NASA $400 for littering.
Who stars in the Last Days of The Space Age?
Created and written by David Childow (Moving On, Hidden) along with other writers, there are some notable faces in the cast including:
- Radha Mitchell ( Take My Hand, Olympus Has Fallen) as Judy Bissett
- Jesse Spencer (Chicago Fire) as Tony Bissett
- Iain Glen (Game of Thrones) as Bob Foden
- Deborah Mailman (Total Control) as Eileen Wilberforce
- Thomas Weatherall (Heartbreak High) as Bilya Wilberforce
- Emily Grant (RFDS) as Mia Bissett
- George Mason (The Power of the Dog) as Mick Bissett
- Linh-Dan Pham (The Beat My Heart Skipped) as Sandy Bui
- Vico Thai (Total Control) as Lam Bui
- Jacket Koman (Jack Irish) as Yvgeny Pugo
- Ines English (Dead Lucky) as Svetlana Kulova
Plus newcomers
- Mackenzie Mazur (Moja Vesna) as Tilly Bissett
- Aiden Du Chiem as Jono Bui
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