Watch: Netflix Sends ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Into Space

Star Trek: Netflix has reached another height, specifically 115,000 feet (35,000 meters). Last week Netflix hosted their annual “Hack Day” event, which gives their employees a chance to take a break and experiment with new technologies.

One of the projects celebrated Discovery being on Netflix in 190 countries around the world. To do this, some Netflix engineers sent an iPhone playing Discovery into space using a meteorological balloon. You can see the result and some behind the scenes action in a video posted by the team.

Netflix engineers Tony Edwards, Micah Ransdell described their stunt on Medium:

As a nod to a well-known spacefaring industrialist, we thought it’d be fun to see if we could watch Netflix in space. We did this with an iPhone with downloaded Netflix content, a GoPro camera to watch the phone and the Earth, some heaters (lithium batteries don’t work well at -60°C / -76°F!), and an avionics package which measured GPS location, altitude, temperature, and pressure. All of this was hoisted to the heavens by a helium-filled meteorological balloon which reached an altitude of approximately 35,000 meters / 115,000 feet, at which you can see the curvature of the earth and the blackness of outer space. A special thanks goes to the Stanford Student Space Initiative for helping us out with this hack.


Star Trek: Discovery is available exclusively in the USA on CBS All Access. It airs in Canada on the Space Channel and streams on CraveTV. It is available on Netflix everywhere else.

Keep up with all the Star Trek: Discovery news at TrekMovie.

 

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Notice the curvature of the phone :)

Indeed.

So everywhere else in the world and now space get Discovery on Netflix, but still not the US. Awesome.

Well, they had to pre-load the episode onto the phone so it’s not like you can just get it in space. It’s an interesting question, though: Who has the distribution rights in space? Which Netflix do you get in space, e.g. on the ISS? Is it Netflix USA? Does every astronaut get the Netflix of their home country?

….when it orbits over the U.S., it charges you to see it, though.

Netflix ain’t free.

…of course, true. Should have said a ‘whole ‘nother charge to see it.’

Notice the ice on the glass? It’s very cold up there!!

…if only they could somehow send the writers into space…and let Nick Meyer out of that closet they apparently have him locked up in!

The Year is 2245.

An alien ships touches down in Central Park. Three alien figures step out. President whoever walks up to greet the lead alien. They shake hands.

The lead alien pulls out a 21st century iPhone. It begins playing ” Star trek Discovery “.

” Nachta Michu Stolios Promus ” he says. All three aliens leave.

The president looks over to the universal translator.

It beeps into life

” Not my Star Trek “.

Is the video no longer hosted?