Award-Winning Film Studio Delphia Entertainment Begins Production on New NASA Documentary Before the Moon

NASA trained in Warminster. From steamboats to space shuttles, this doc uncovers the hidden innovators who launched America skyward.

WARMINSTER, PA, UNITED STATES, July 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Delphia Entertainment, the acclaimed Philadelphia-based film studio behind a slate of award-winning historical documentaries, has officially begun production on its latest project: Before the Moon. This feature-length documentary uncovers forgotten chapters of American innovation that took place in the Greater Philadelphia area that laid the groundwork for the Space Race - from steamboats to space shuttles.

At the heart of the story is a little-known facility with outsized impact: the Johnsville Centrifuge, located at the former Naval Air Development Center in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Once the world’s largest and most powerful human centrifuge on Earth, the 50-foot-long arm flung astronauts - including Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, and Buzz Aldrin - at speeds of up to 175 miles per hour, subjecting them to punishing G-forces in preparation for space travel.

"Before we walked on the Moon, astronauts trained in Warminster," said Eleanor O’Rangers, President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Cold War Historical Society. "There is so much hidden history about the Space Race and the aerospace heritage of the Greater Philadelphia Region that is ripe for rediscovery and preservation."

Directed by Jason Sherman, founder of Delphia Entertainment and a longtime innovator in documentary storytelling, Before the Moon explores the extraordinary, often-overlooked contributions of American engineers, technicians, and scientists who helped propel the U.S. space program - sometimes quite literally.

Among the stories revisited: a life-saving fix aboard Apollo 13 using a carbon dioxide filter cartridge manufactured not in Houston or Huntsville, but in Newtown, Pennsylvania, by Lavelle Aircraft Corporation. The same small company also fabricated key structures for TIROS-1 (Television InfraRed Observation Satellite), launched by NASA on April 1, 1960, was the first satellite to successfully send back television images from space. Specifically, images of Earth's weather systems.

“We think of space as this far-off frontier,” said Dave Callahan, Historian at the Newtown Historic Association. “But so much of what made space travel possible was built right here in Pennsylvania by machinists, draftsmen, and engineers working in small factories. They weren’t chasing fame. They were solving problems.”

The documentary also features first-hand accounts from living astronauts, NASA engineers, historians, and aerospace experts who reflect on the technical brilliance and human courage that defined America’s early space efforts. Their stories serve as a living bridge between the Mercury-Gemini-Apollo era and today's Artemis missions - renewing our national effort to return to the Moon and, ultimately, to reach Mars. In highlighting these stories, Before the Moon honors not just the astronauts, but the ground crews, the machinists, and the quiet innovators whose work made every launch, and every safe return possible.

“In an era where NASA faces budget cuts and public attention is often elsewhere, Before the Moon is a reminder,” Sherman added. “It’s not just a nostalgic look back. It’s a rallying cry for why science, innovation, and the people behind the technology still matter. Because they always have.”

Before the Moon blends archival NASA footage, rare military documents, newly restored never before seen interviews, and never-before-seen artifacts alongside cinematic reenactments and AI-generated recreations. The result is a visually striking and intellectually rich exploration of the unsung figures and forgotten technologies that powered America’s leap into space.

Among the film’s standout revelations:

• The Johnsville Centrifuge could produce forces up to 40 Gs using a 16,000-horsepower electric motor - enough to power over 3,000 homes - and accelerate to 175 mph in just seven seconds.
• John Fitch's 1790 steamboat patent proposed propulsion systems that influenced later developments in rail and marine transport. His prototype logged thousands of miles in experimental voyages across the Delaware River.
• The Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster played a critical Cold War role in aerospace innovation, transforming from a WWII-era maintenance hub into a cutting-edge R&D site. There, engineers and military researchers pioneered technologies in missile guidance, aviation systems, sensor integration, and pilot survival gear. NADC was instrumental in developing and testing life support systems, pressure suits, and physiological protocols that directly supported the Apollo program - and laid the groundwork for today’s spaceflight safety standards.

"Space was not won in Houston or Cape Canaveral alone," said historian Clint Flack of the Bucks County Historical Society. “It was built in quiet labs, on Pennsylvania bedrock, by people whose names never made the headlines.”

Delphia Entertainment is known for its hybrid approach to documentary filmmaking, combining journalistic rigor with narrative and visual storytelling. Previous films such as The King’s Highway and Cutting Corners earned awards for Best Feature Documentary, Audience Choice, and have aired on platforms including WHYY, PBS, Amazon, Verizon, and Comcast.

"Before the Moon is a love letter to the unsung heroes of American science,” said Sherman. “The engineers in the shadows. The inventors that were ahead of their time. And the forgotten towns - like Warminster - that made the impossible possible.”

Production is currently underway, with a release slated for Summer 2026. Delphia Entertainment is actively seeking partnerships with NASA-affiliated organizations, STEM educators, aerospace nonprofits, museums, and historical institutions for collaboration with production, educational screenings, co-branded events, and impact initiatives. If interested email info@beforethemoonfilm.com to get involved.

For updates, visit www.BeforeTheMoonFilm.com and follow @BeforeTheMoonFilm across all major social platforms.

Lily Thompson
Go To Consulting LLC.
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