NASA Television Nets Emmys for Stellar Broadcasts
NASA and SpaceX won an Emmy award Sept. 14 for Outstanding Interactive Programming as they worked together on team coverage of the first commercial crew spacecraft mission to the International Space Station.
The award, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, was for coverage of Demonstration Mission-1. The uncrewed mission was a key milestone in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which is paving the way for commercial transport of astronauts to the space station while the agency looks forward to future deep space exploration missions.
The award recognized multiple live NASA Television broadcasts that took years of collaboration and preparation at NASA and SpaceX facilities across the country. The programs covered the mission from launch to splashdown, and included news conferences and coverage of dynamic events during each phase of the flight and the Dragon capsule’s stunning return to Earth.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center played an integral role in mission television coverage, involving expertise from the External Relations Office, the Information Resources Directorate and, of course, the men and women of mission control who made the actual mission a success.
Image Credit: NASA
“I don’t often get a chance to work on big high-profile projects that are being produced for the very first time,” said Mary Beth Boddeker, a live television producer in the Communications and Public Affairs Office’s production control room, who was enthusiastic about being a part of the effort. “It was exciting, challenging and very rewarding to be part of the inaugural programming which shared the Demo-1 mission with the world. I’m proud to have been a part of such an extensive team effort.”
The Emmy award is on a tour and made its stop at Johnson on Oct. 22.
With NASA’s Artemis program ramping up for sustained human exploration of the Moon and later Mars, telling the NASA story every day is as important as ever. The role of Johnson in this effort is unique, housing programs such as the International Space Station, Orion and new Gateway programs, as well as being the home of mission control and the Astronaut Corps.
On the same night, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory also won an Emmy for its work with the InSight Mars lander in another category, Outstanding Original Interactive Program.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine later tweeted, “Congrats to all involved and those who help tell the @NASA story every day!”
Dan Huot, the NASA host for the mission, said he worked hand-in-hand with both the NASA and SpaceX television production teams to plan and prepare for the mission. Huot accepted the Emmy in Los Angeles on behalf of the NASA team that produced coverage of the launch and arrival at the International Space Station.
“After the initial euphoria wore off, we’ve already started talking about how this just pushes our measures for success on future mission coverage even higher,” Huot said, expressing his excitement at being chosen to accept the Emmy (see the video here). “The most exciting stuff is still to come, and we’ll be doing our best to make the entire NASA community proud of how their space agency, their hard work and their history-making successes, are presented to the entire world.”
“Demo-1 was just the first step in a new era of sending humans into space, and the upcoming Commercial Crew Program missions will continue down the path that will ultimately lead to a new paradigm for how people think of astronauts and space missions,” Huot said. “Our commercial providers will be critical for enabling continued research on the International Space Station that is directly informing how we’ll live and work in space on future exploration missions, including those trips forward to the Moon under the Artemis program.”
More Commercial Crew Program missions are on the horizon, both by SpaceX and Boeing, with the first crewed missions planned for next year.
Image Credit: NASA