The Space Shuttle: 10. Return to flight
The space shuttle is back. Discovery stands waiting on launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. It has taken more than two years to get here. Nasa has l...
The Space Shuttle: 9. What is it all for?
Is human spaceflight worth the risk? It’s a time of soul searching for the whole shuttle crew. The space shuttle programme is put on hold for two year...
The Space Shuttle: 8. A major malfunction
The Challenger tragedy shocks a nation, as millions watch on TV screens across the USA. Something has gone catastrophically wrong with the launch o...
The Space Shuttle: 7. Teacher in space
Nasa needs to kick-start new interest in the space shuttle. After multiple missions, public attention is waning and funding could suffer. Nasa want to...
The Space Shuttle: 6. Satellite for sale
Can the crew rescue the million-dollar space satellite lost in orbit? Two car-sized satellites, worth $75 million each, are stranded in space. Five as...
The Space Shuttle: 5. Space truck
President Ronald Reagan declares the space shuttle open for business. It’s Independence Day 1982. And we’re in the sweltering Mojave desert of Califor...
The Space Shuttle: 4. The 35 new guys
Nasa recruits women and ethnic minorities for the first time to its astronaut class. In the beginning of American spaceflight, all astronauts selected...
The Space Shuttle: 3. Glass rocket
Columbia reaches orbit. But astronaut Bob Crippen discovers that the shuttle has been damaged – can he and John Young make it home safely? Parts of ...
The Space Shuttle: 2. The greatest test flight
The astronauts count down to flying a brand-new spacecraft for the very first time. If they pull it off, they will earn a place in space history. The...
The Space Shuttle: 1. The spaceplane
Can Nasa build the most complex flying machine in space history? The plan is to create a permanent human presence in space. It’s Spring 1969 - two m...