Kristen Stewart reportedly set to star in first TV role with limited series about Challenger disaster

It has been a long time since Kristen Stewart first adorned our screens with the Twilight series, as she now prepares to star in The Challenger. Over the years, she has been a part of a range of successful projects including the likes of Charlie’s Angels, Lizzie, as well as Spencer.

Now however, she is set to take on arguably her most unique role thus far, which is set to arrive in the upcoming TV series The Challenger. Based on the 1986 Challenger disaster which led to the death of seven astronauts, the series will see her mark her major TV series debut, as she has been revealed to be taking on the role of popular astronaut Sally Ride, according to Deadline.

The ride was not amongst the 7 astronauts on board The Challenger back in January 1986, which was the first major accident involving a US spacecraft. After flying uncontrollably, the craft’s rocket boosters were separated from the main tank, eventually falling into the Atlantic Ocean. It led to the spacecraft also crashing into the ocean, with its seven on-board members reportedly all perishing in tragic circumstances.

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Kristen Stewart is set to star as Sally Ride in The Challenger

The Challenger is set to enter production in the coming time, with not a lot of details revealed about the project thus far. The series is set to be close to being taken up by Amazon, so it will probably see a premiere on Prime Video, in the coming time.

While Kristen Stewart is confirmed to be starring as Sally Ride, not a lot of details have been released about the project, which is stated to be a mini-series, as far as the IMDB description is concerned. It stipulates the following synopsis for the project:

A group of astronauts, including the first woman and LGBTQ+ member, first Black and Asian Americans, and a married couple become the top crew for NASA's space shuttle program. Tragedy strikes, and Ride investigates the Challenger disaster.

The 1978 class of Astronauts grew famous due to the diversity the group boasted of, with Sally Ride herself becoming the first American woman in space a few years later, in 1983. However, she was a part of the 1978 class and was seen as a crucial figure. Sally Ride was not among the 7 astronauts on board, with The Challenger itself exploding after just 73 seconds into the flight.

However, as part of the Rogers Commission which was submitted to President Ronald Reagan back in June 1986, Ride had talked about the O-rings of the craft that she identified as the chief cause of the explosion, as it stiffened when exposed to the low temperature of the atmosphere.

The series has been planned to be released on the 40th anniversary of the disaster, which took place on January 28, 1986. This means that the release will happen sometime in January 2026.

The narration is set to be based on The New Guys, Meredith E. Bagby’s novel, and will be created by Big Wing Productions. It will be produced by Nevermind and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners. The former is owned by Kristen Stewart herself.

Finally, the likes of Maggie Cohn and Kyra Sedgwick are also set to be involved in the production. Regardless, the mini-series will attempt to reveal a forgotten side of the story, and will heavily focus on Sally Ride, as well as the Rogers Commission.