
In the 1970s, America looks to its state-of-the-art, reusable Space Shuttle to reinvigorate its national space programme and meet the country’s military and commercial demands. For the first time, aspiring astronauts of all genders and racial backgrounds have been encouraged to apply. But in 1986, tragedy strikes when Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after launch, killing all seven astronauts on board.\n\nThis is the story of the early Space Shuttle program, using immersive interviews with astronauts and their families to reveal how they battled segregation, sexism and hard-wired prejudices to secure a ride to space.
Source: BBC 2
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Series 1: 4. Friends Forever
Emotions are something that most fighter pilots learn to suppress, but when astronaut and former fighter pilot Terry Virts fits one of the last pieces of the International Space ...
24-11-2025
BBC 2
Series 1: 3. Politics Always Wins
In 1996, NASA unveils its largest-ever team of astronauts: 44 individuals tasked with the colossal undertaking of building the International Space Station, piece by piece, in or ...
17-11-2025
BBC 2
Series 1: 2. The Russian Thing
After the fall of the Soviet Union, a crown jewel of communism still survives: the Soviet space station, Mir, a final outpost of a fallen empire. But the country’s space p ...
11-11-2025
BBC 2
Series 1: 1. America First
In the 1970s, America looks to its state-of-the-art, reusable Space Shuttle to reinvigorate its national space programme and meet the country’s military and commercial dem ...
04-11-2025
BBC 2