Smithsonain Ch. – Space Disasters: Series 1 (2020)

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.

Part 1: First Generation
Get the inside story of NASA’s early victories and failures, through firsthand accounts and rarely seen mission footage

Part 2: Failure at Re-Entry
Discover what makes re-entry into our atmosphere so challenging and relive some of the most perilous returns to Earth

Part 3: Fixing on the Fly
Relive some of the most unexpected accidents in spaceflight and meet the astronauts who had to fix them on the fly