The Inspiration4 civilian crew training together in zero gravity
J.J. Kelley

Project · 08

Netflix · Inspiration4

CountdownInspiration4 Mission to Space

Documentary series · Spaceflight

Watch the official trailer

The mission · 2021

Four civilians
Three days in orbit

Countdown chronicles the historic SpaceX mission that sent the first all-civilian crew into Earth’s orbit. Across five episodes, the series captures the training, launch, and live reactions of a crew carrying a mission beyond the flight: raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Client
Netflix
Platform
Netflix
My role
Segment Director
Format
Five-part documentary series

Official trailer · 04:25

Follow the countdown.

0:000:00

Training for the unknown

Before orbit, the mountain

Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Christopher Sembroski, and Sian Proctor entered a demanding program designed to test physical readiness, judgment, and trust. The mountain sequence turns that preparation into a human story—four people learning how to move as one crew before leaving the planet together.

The Inspiration4 expedition team ascending a snow-covered mountain
Training above the clouds
Two members of the mountain production team in red expedition jackets
Snow-covered mountains reflected in a crew member’s glasses
A crew member seated beside a mountain hut above the cloud line
A production crew member recording sound in winter conditions
Two production crew members on a broad snowfield
The mountain unit
Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space official series posterTIME magazine cover featuring the Inspiration4 crew

Selected credits

A mission larger than the flight

Segment director
J.J. Kelley
Series director
Jason Hehir
Mission
2021 · First all-civilian crew in orbit
Beneficiary
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital