A satiric look at the problems experienced by a crew of bumbling astronauts on a mission to destroy rogue planets.Dark Star / Film synopsis
January 16, 1975 (Los Angeles)Dark Star / Release date
Doolittle : Are you willing to entertain a few concepts? Bomb #20 : I am always receptive to suggestions. Doolittle : Fine. Think about this then.
60,000 USDDark Star / Budget
Dark stars only exist at high redshifts, making them an observing challenge. The infrared Ultra Deep Field (opens in new tab) images taken by Hubble were used to look for dark stars, but none were found.
Astronomy. Dark star (Newtonian mechanics), a star that has a gravitational pull strong enough to trap light under Newtonian gravity. Dark star (dark matter), a star heated by annihilation of dark matter particles within it. Dark-energy star, an object composed of dark energy that outwardly resembles a black hole.
As it turns out, any star greater than 3 solar masses must eventually form such a "dark star" after thermonuclear reactions have ceased, since no known source of pressure can support it. These objects are called "black holes" and this term was first coined by the physicist John Wheeler.
Robert HunterDark Star / LyricistRobert C. Christie Hunter was an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his work with the Grateful Dead. Wikipedia
greater Houston areaMuch of the film was shot in the greater Houston area, including Intercontinental Airport, Jones Hall, and the Johnson Space Center. The film includes a chase scene through the underground pedestrian Houston tunnel system running under the city.
In the 1990s Lockheed Martin created the RQ-3 Darkstar, a high altitude, unmanned aerial vehicle designed for endurance, not for speed. The UAV did its first flight in March 1996. The project was terminated in 1999 because the aircraft did not meet expectations.
The full-scale prototype featured in the film was based on the SR-71 Blackbird that Lockheed built in the '60s. This long-range, high-altitude reconnaissance jet was capable of traveling three times the speed of sound.
Darkstar is a mutant who has psionic power to access the extradimensional energy of the Darkforce dimension, which grants her a number of superhuman abilities. She is connected to the dimension by splitting her consciousness between her physical body and its Darkforce representation, both symbiotically linked.
The Crosby Stills & Nash song "Dark Star" is about Stephen's relationship with singer Joan Baez, according to Graham Nash's autobiography "Wild Tales".