British innovator Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE) is partnering with Houston-based Axiom Space to build and attach a dedicated film production studio module to the International Space Station (ISS).
Cinema is blasting off into space. Just months ago, Russian actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko returned from 12 days aboard the ISS, capturing footage for their film Вызов (The Challenge), where a surgeon performs an emergency operation in orbit.
Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman are also slated to film scenes on the ISS, with SEE co-producing the project—and they have even bigger ambitions.
SEE recently unveiled plans for the SEE-1 module, set to connect to Axiom's segment of the ISS by December 2024. This facility will host movies, TV shows, music, sporting events, and creative talents leveraging the unique microgravity environment of low Earth orbit.
Equipped for development, production, recording, and live streaming, SEE-1 will produce original content while offering access to third-party creators.
Measuring six meters in diameter, the module features an inflatable design inspired by Bigelow Aerospace's BEAM, which has been attached to the ISS since September 2016 and remains in use by NASA for storage.
Prior to SEE-1's arrival, Axiom will pioneer private crewed missions. The inaugural Ax-1 flight launches March 31, carrying veteran astronaut Michael López-Alegría, Israeli pilot and businessman Eytan Stibbe, and U.S./Canadian entrepreneurs Larry Connor and Mark Pathy for an eight-day stay.
Looking ahead, Axiom's commercial section could detach between 2028 and 2030 to form an independent orbital platform as the ISS nears retirement.
