Upamanyu Biswas
In the romantic comedy film, ‘Aloha,’ a former Air Force officer turned military contractor, Brian Gilcrest, is hired by entrepreneur Carson Welch to oversee the launch of a new private military satellite over Hawaii for his company Global One. The organization is a private space venture that is focused on revitalizing the space industry through its Brave Angel project, which also has the backing of the military.
Under Welch’s stewardship, Gilcrest and his new watchdog, Captain Allison Ng, have to ensure there is no hitch in the plans by brokering a deal with the Hawaiian leader, King Dennis Kanahele. Therefore, the company and its top-secret project are at the heart of the central conflict in the story, making them integral to the way things play out! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Global One: A Fictional Private Space Company With Sinister Motivations
The Global One space organization depicted in ‘Aloha’ is a fictional company conceived by Cameron Crowe, who penned it while drafting the screenplay. In the movie, it is owned and operated by Carson Welch, a billionaire entrepreneur who has his eyes set on the space industry. As a private space company, it has similarities to other ventures of its kind, such as SpaceX, founded and run by Elon Musk, and the Jeff Bezos-founded company Blue Origin. However, the fictional company has certain insidious motivations that differentiate it from SpaceX and Blue Origin, especially its plans to launch a satellite equipped with a nuclear payload.
With Welch as the figurehead of the company, it is clear that the central objectives of the organization are determined and set up by the billionaire himself. It clearly has ties to the communication industry, owing to its well-developed satellite service, and also has links in the aerospace navigation market. The company’s founder, Carson Welch, has a history with Brian Gilcrest, owing to the latter’s checkered military past. While working for Global One, Brian discovers the actual mission, which he keeps under wraps from Ng, fearing that her idealism would clash with the questionable stance taken by the space company.
As the organization exists outside the government’s jurisdiction, there is very little oversight of its actions and the consequences of its decisions. It allows Welch to do what he wants when he wants without anyone holding him back. At the end of the film, it collapses after the military learns about the nuclear payload that was set to be deployed during the satellite mission, leading to Welch’s downfall and, most likely, the company’s dissolution after a major scandal. However, despite its loose ties to existing space companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin, it is a fictional organization that cannot be found in reality.
Brave Angel is a Surveillance Project Not Attached to Any Real-Life Counterpart
Although ‘Aloha’ is primarily a romantic movie, it also features secret programs being undertaken in a clandestine manner. One such project is unveiled through the Brave Angel Program, a satellite project run by the military with the aid of Global One and its owner, Carson Welch. Like Global One, the Brave Angel mission is a fictional project developed by Cameron Crowe. To ensure that things go according to plan, Brian Gilcrest is sent to Hawaii to broker a deal with the local leader and to ensure the launch takes place seamlessly. In reality, similar programs can be found in the likes of the Space Surveillance Network (SSN), which monitors potential space collisions and provides intel to help safeguard the interests of the country and its allies.
However, the Brave Angel Program deviates from any real-life sources because of its eventual outcome. The program is a disguise for a nuclear payload delivery mission undertaken by Carson Welch himself. This ends up coming back to haunt the billionaire when Brian sabotages the project to ensure nothing unethical happens. Welch is arrested at the end of the film, with the Brave Angel Program serving as the final nail in his coffin. It plays a vital role in the movie’s conclusion but continues to be a project that is only confined to the realms of fiction.
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