NASA engineers meticulously examine film footage capturing the moment a piece of debris collided with the Space Shuttle Columbia merely 81 seconds after its launch.
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As NASA readies the Space Shuttle Columbia for its landmark 28th flight, a palpable mix of anticipation and concern envelops both the astronauts and their loved ones.
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Chasing the Moon episode 3: After the immediate celebration of 1968’s successful Apollo 8 mission, underlying questions about the space programme emerged with new intensity as politicised young Americans challenged the nation’s priorities. Nasa pushed brashly forward. After the lunar orbit, competition escalated among the training astronauts. Who would be chosen for the first moon landing? In January 1969, Nasa ended months of speculation and announced the crew for Apollo 11. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong would be in the craft that landed on the moon. They would be supported by Mike Collins in the command module.
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Chasing the Moon episode 2: What exactly was it going to take for America to beat the Soviets to the moon? Cold War tensions persisted, as rumours circulated that the Soviets were preparing to send an unmanned spacecraft to the moon. Nasa quickly developed the Gemini program, sending astronauts into orbit around the Earth to practice critical manoeuvres for the eventual trip to the moon. Ed White became the first American to walk in space, an experience so exhilarating that, when Houston ordered him back in the space craft, he replied, ‘Not yet!’. Nasa’s next-generation spacecraft, Apollo
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Chasing the Moon episode 1: On 4 October 1957, Soviet scientists launched Sputnik 1 – a beach ball-sized, radio-transmitting aluminium alloy sphere – into orbit. The satellite caused a sensation. Amid Cold War tensions, the Soviet Union’s accomplishment signalled a dramatic technological advantage and American felt it had little choice but to join the Space Race. Then on 12 April 1961, the Soviets sealed their advantage when cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth. John F Kennedy, the newly elected president, was faced with the issue of how to respond. Two days later,
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NASA – Triumph and Tragedy (2 parts): This documentary series offers audiences a unique chance to glimpse an astronaut’s view of space flight. It is an epic story of heroes and their breathtaking successes as they further humanity’s innate desire to explore. NASA – Triumph and Tragedy part 1 – One Small Step In 2009, NASA celebrates the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing. This documentary series offers audiences a unique chance to glimpse an astronaut’s view of space flight. It is an epic story of heroes and their breathtaking successes as they further humanity’s innate desire
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Alien Hell Storms: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are homes to the deadliest storms in our solar system, and new discoveries reveal the secrets of this hellish alien weather, helping experts understand these alien worlds better than ever. Alien Hell Storms The Great Red Spot is a persistent high-pressure region in the atmosphere of Jupiter, producing an anticyclonic storm, the largest in the Solar System, 22 degrees south of Jupiter’s equator. It has been continuously observed since 1830. Earlier observations from 1665 to 1713 are believed to be of the same storm; if this is correct, it
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A new age of space exploration, and exploitation, is dawning. But surprisingly, some of the boldest efforts at putting humans into space are now those of private companies started by a handful of maverick billionaire businessmen. The 21st Century Race for Space Brian Cox gains exclusive access behind the scenes at Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and Spaceport America, exploring what is really happening in privately financed space flight right now. From space tourism to asteroid mining, and even dreams of colonies on Mars, these new masters of the universe refuse to limit their imaginations. But are private companies
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The Sky at Night – Return to the Moon ? –Â Nearly 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and it seemed like the dawn of a new age. Soon we’d be flying to the moon as effortlessly as we fly to America, and a moon base would be filled with men and women building a better future out in space. But then the moon fell out of fashion. We soon realized it was brutally inhospitable and getting there was eye-wateringly expensive. Rather than spend huge sums of money going where we’d already been, Mars and
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Triumph and Tragedy follows the story of NASA. With repeated triumphs and new challenges come increasing risk, until loss breaks the pattern.
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The Space Age: Nasa’s Story offers a fresh look at an amazing organisation and mankind’s quest to understand the universe
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