Space Disasters • 2020 • 6 episodes • 4h:24m
The tragic launch rehearsal that nearly ended the Apollo Moon Program. The Mir Space Station collision of 1997. The re-entry failure of Space Shuttle Columbia. Each NASA and Soviet space mission is a high-stakes project with an ever-present risk of failure. This series pays tribute to the bold men and women who put their lives on the line in order to get a foothold in the heavens...sometimes with spectacularly disastrous results. We also show how the close calls and catastrophes of our past paved the way for the breakthroughs of today.
Get the inside story of NASA’s early victories and failures, through firsthand accounts and rarely seen mission footage
S1E1 • 2020 • Astronomy
Discover what makes re-entry into our atmosphere so challenging and relive some of the most perilous returns to Earth
S1E2 • 2020 • Astronomy
Relive some of the most unexpected accidents in spaceflight and meet the astronauts who had to fix them on the fly
S1E3 • 2020 • Astronomy
See how little things like a stripped screw or a faulty toilet can become big emergencies when they happen in space.
S1E4 • 2020 • Astronomy
Flying through bad weather can be a harrowing experience, and for NASA, it can be doubly unnerving, as violent storms can strike from below the atmosphere or above it. Witness the true power of nature in space and on Earth as astronauts and ground crews battle to overcome the elements, including a severe lightning strike that crippled Apollo 12's computer system, the freezing temps that compromised the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the tempest of space debris that sent a dead satellite on a collision course with the International Space Station.
S1E5 • 2020 • Astronomy
There’s a reason rocket science is used as a benchmark for difficulty. See why as we examine great liftoff disasters.
S1E6 • 2020 • Astronomy