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Movies like Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World (2026)

The best movies like Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World (2026) are In the Shadow of the Moon (2007), Apollo: Missions to the Moon (2019) and MARS: Inside SpaceX (2018). If Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World hooked you with its documentary and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)

    Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Apollo: Missions to the Moon (2019)

    National Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. MARS: Inside SpaceX (2018)

    The inside story of SpaceX's plan to get humanity to Mars, providing an unprecedented glimpse into one of the world's most revolutionary companies. A behind-the-scenes journey with Elon Musk and his engineers as they persevere amidst both disheartening setbacks and huge triumphs to advance the space industry faster than we ever thought possible.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. For All Mankind (1989)

    A testament to NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the missions and astronaut interviews, the documentary offers the viewpoint of the individuals who braved the remarkable journey to the moon and back.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)

    The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)

    For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Pavarotti (2019)

    Featuring never-before-seen footage, concert performances and intimate interviews, filmmaker Ron Howard examines the life and career of famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

    The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. IMAX Hubble (2010)

    An IMAX 3D camera chronicles the effort of 7 astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Elstree 1976 (2015)

    A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine (2023)

    The James Webb Telescope stirs imaginations with vivid photos of distant galaxies. This documentary tracks its historic journey from inception to launch.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. The Captains (2011)

    The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. RBG (2018)

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg now 84, and still inspired by the lawyers who defended free speech during the Red Scare, Ginsburg refuses to relinquish her passionate duty, steadily fighting for equal rights for all citizens under the law. Through intimate interviews and unprecedented access to Ginsburg’s life outside the court, RBG tells the electric story of Ginsburg’s consuming love affairs with both the Constitution and her beloved husband Marty—and of a life’s work that led her to become an icon of justice in the highest court in the land.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Maria by Callas (2017)

    Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021)

    Lupita Nyong'o narrates a documentary about Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Famous fans—including Drew Barrymore, Kevin Smith, and Al Roker—share its influence on them, and a new animated story finds Charlie Brown on a quest.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Kurt Cobain: About a Son (2007)

    An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." In the film, Kurt Cobain recounts his own life - from his childhood and adolescence to his days of musical discovery and later dealings with explosive fame - and offers often piercing insights into his life, music, and times. The conversations heard in the film have never before been made public, and they reveal a highly personal portrait of an artist much discussed but not particularly well understood.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies (2020)

    The definitive documentary on the history of nudity in feature films from the early silent days to the present, studying the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped that history. Skin will also study the gender inequality in presenting nude images in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has created nude gender equality in feature films today.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

    With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts as well as friend Bill Paxton, James Cameron embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the wreck of the Titanic where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

    A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds (2020)

    This remarkable journey across our planet and universe explores how meteorites, shooting stars, and deep impacts have awoken our wonder about other realms—and make us rethink our destinies.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. Chernobyl: 48 Hours To Escape (2026)

    Witnesses, survivors and front-line heroes recall the first days of the Chernobyl disaster of April 1986. Featuring rare archive footage of the world's worst ever nuclear accident.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history

  22. Storycorps: Eyes on the Stars (2012)

    On January 28, 1986, NASA Challenger mission STS-51-L ended in tragedy when the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. On board was physicist Ronald E. McNair, the second African American to enter space. But first, he was a kid with big dreams in Lake City, South Carolina.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. One Night with Asterix & Obelix (2023)

    On the occasion of the release of the blockbuster "Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom", unpublished images of the preparation of the film and the manufacturing secrets, as well as the crazy story of Asterix and Obelix since its origins.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. Bulletproof Salesman (2008)

    Fidelis Cloer is a self-confessed war profiteer who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. It wasn't about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. La Station spatiale internationale - Missions à haut risque (2026)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  26. Beside Bowie - The Mick Ronson Story (2017)

    Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story is a documentary about the life and work of Michael "Mick" Ronson, the guitarist, songwriter, producer and arranger who, in the early part of his career, performed with David Bowie as one of the 'Spiders from Mars'.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. Artemis 1: Going Back to the Moon (2022)

    Follow the extraordinary inside story of NASA engineers as they race to build and launch Artemis I, the world's biggest rocket, as it prepares for missions that will transport humans to the moon, then launch an amazing journey to Mars and beyond.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. Bruce Willis : les secrets d'une icône (2025)

    Nothing predestined Bruce Willis to become an actor, still less of action movies, and yet in a few years he would become one of the most profitable stars in the entire history of cinema, until his career abruptly changed course. For ten years, Bruce Willis had been going through a dry spell, punctuated by dozens of low-budget films.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Qui veut la peau de la lanceuse d'alerte ? (2026)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  30. I Am Steve McQueen (2014)

    A walk through the incredible personal and artistic history of legendary actor, race car driver and cultural icon Steve McQueen (1930-80).

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World?

The closest matches to Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World are In the Shadow of the Moon (2007), Apollo: Missions to the Moon (2019) and MARS: Inside SpaceX (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World?

Start with In the Shadow of the Moon (2007), the closest match to Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World.

What is the highest-rated movie like Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World?

RBG (2018), rated 7.5/10 by 318 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World?

Chernobyl: 48 Hours To Escape (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World?

Yes: In the Shadow of the Moon (2007), Apollo: Missions to the Moon (2019) and MARS: Inside SpaceX (2018).

How are movies similar to Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Space Shuttle Challenger: Days that Shocked the World, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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