The Stars Over Broken Hill

Outback Mines. Space Frontiers.

By Anthony Silberfeld
17min2026
Mining & Space ExplorationAustralian OutbackScience & IndustryFuture of Space

In Australia’s historic mining town of Broken Hill, a landscape once defined by boom-and-bust mineral extraction is now helping power a new frontier—space exploration—revealing how the industrial foundations built on Earth are helping enable humanity’s push into space.

About the Film

Following the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, Spain began a long road to transforming the country from the darkest days of authoritarianism to meeting its tremendous potential as a creative, thriving member of the democratic family of nations. Though there are many drivers that contributed to this successful metamorphosis, the role of cities and the use of public spaces served as critical catalysts for leveraging the lessons of history to construct a durable democratic future. This film is part of the "Democracy in Cities" series, presented in collaboration with the GMF Cities program.

Out of the Darkness