Curiosity: Life of A Mars Rover
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In January 1986 the Space Shuttle program was hitting full stride, with 24 successful launches and a full year of missions planned. Then on January 28th the U.S. space program suffered its first flight loss of life with the disintegration of the shuttle just 73 seconds after launch.
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Before the joint NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens mission, humanity only knew what had been learned, decades earlier, with the previous limited, rapid "fly-by" Pioneer and Voyager missions. Cassini-Huygens spent more than 13 years in wildly varied orbits around Saturn, allowing the spacecraft to pass near many of its moons, as well as execute a soft-landing of its Huygens lander on the moon Titan. By mission end, it accumulated a mountain of imagery and scientific data that will continue to be studied for years to come. This film is a testament to the amazing efforts of the scientists who planned and executed the mission. It combines breathtaking images, movies, and a variety of animations to take the viewer into Saturn's complex system of rings and moons, as well as stepping viewers through some of the more exciting scientific discoveries made over the course of the elaborately complex mission.
An idea born in unsettled times becomes a feat of engineering excellence. The most complex machine ever built to bring humans to and from space and eventually construct the next stop on the road to space exploration.
1969's Apollo 11 mission to the moon is highlighted in this tribute to the history of the United States' space program.
The remarkable story of the determination and courage of a generation. A tribute to three brave astronauts and the thousands of men and women behind them during the final days of NASA's Apollo program.
The first American space station Skylab is found in pieces scattered in Western Australia. Putting these pieces back together and re-tracing the Skylab program back to its very conception reveals the cornerstone of human space exploration.
In 1961, no one believed President Kennedy’s pledge to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. To win the race to space, the USA needed to create a multi-billion dollar space program. Using stunning NASA footage, this inspirational film tells the story of the colossal challenges NASA faced to fulfill Kennedy's pledge. With the accolade of flying 24 men safely to the moon, Saturn V is considered one of mankind's greatest technological achievements. This is the story of the most powerful machine ever built, and the men and women who believed it could fly.
After rigorous testing in 1961, a small group of skilled female pilots are asked to step aside when only men are selected for spaceflight.
"Destination Moon" is the third in the trio of documentaries about the beginnings of the space age. It documents JPL's ambitious plan to beat the Soviet Union in robotic space exploration by reaching not only for the moon, but also the inner planets. But as the hour-long episode documents, JPL would be humbled by a series of failures in attempting to merely hit the moon, let alone visit the other planets. "We didn't know what we were doing," one veteran JPL engineer confides, "and there was no one around to tell us." This film shows how JPL did learn to go to the moon and to the planet Venus, giving the United States its first "First in Space."
"The American Rocketeer" tells the controversial story of aviation engineer Frank Malina, whose fundamental role in the evolution of American rocketry is largely forgotten. Malina, along with a motley crew of amateur rocket enthusiasts and fellow California Institute of Technology students, conducted the first stand-up rocket engine test on Halloween in 1936 in the Pasadena Arroyo. On this 75th anniversary of those tests, this 90-minute, intensely personal documentary explores the complexities of Malina's life and the profound ramifications his work had on Caltech and the nation. "Though there are many fascinating characters in the American Rocketeer, at its core, this film is a personal story of one man's dreams," noted producer Blaine Baggett, "and how his ideas and idealism put him on a collision course with the world."
"Explorer 1" is the second episode of "Beginnings Of The Space Age". The 60-minute documentary reveals how JPL and the U.S. Army could have been the first to place a satellite into Earth orbit, had they only been given the chance. That opportunity was lost when the Eisenhower administration, unsure of what the Soviet reaction would be to a satellite launched (in part) by the U.S. Army military, hesitated and assigned the project to a civilian-led program called Vanguard. The Soviet Union launched Sputnik in October 1957, shocking the world and creating the "Race for Space" in the midst of the Cold War. Only after the Vanguard rocket exploded on the launch pad were JPL and the U.S. Army given its chance. The result was Explorer 1, the first successful U.S. satellite, which also achieved the first space science results.
The complex engineering challenges that make re-entry into the earth's atmosphere so dangerous. Scientists have labored for years to bring a crew safely home in what is essentially a meteorite, wrapped in a cocoon of fire, hurtling towards earth six times faster than the fastest bullet. Scientific experts from NASA explain the significance of Columbia's events as they unfolded, offer insights into what may have caused them and how those key events contributed to the shuttle’s ultimate destruction.
July 1969. America made history and sent the first humans to the moon. High-quality NASA footage and extensive news broadcasts bring this sensational moment in history bursting back into life. Live news footage from every corner of the globe recreates the excitement and elation that surrounded the event, as 600 million people tuned in to watch Neil Armstrong's remarkable first steps.
A respectful overview of Dr. Marvin E. Grunzke’s career that included training Ham, the first chimpanzee launched into orbit by NASA.
With more than 27 years of service, the space shuttle Discovery has clocked more time in space than any other shuttle. She has flown more than 148 million miles, and has become one of the most storied spacecraft in American history. Join us as we celebrate her remarkable past and follow her final flight: to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It's an emotionally charged mission full of logistical challenges. Discovery is a robust, but very fragile aircraft, and getting her to D.C. in one piece will require some innovative engineering.
Enjoy the epic story of NASA space exploration. This comprehensive edition takes you on an adventure showcasing the most thrilling moments in U.S. Space exploration, while also examining the heartbreaking events when tragedy struck. It’s all here…. From the amazing flight of John Glenn in Friendship 7 to The “Eagle has landed” historic mission to the moon, and Skylab and more. A Brilliant combination of adventure, science, history - perfect for the whole family.
A billion miles from home, running low on fuel, and almost out of time. After 13 years traversing the Saturn system, the spacecraft Cassini is plunging to a fiery death, becoming part of the very planet it has been exploring. As it embarks on its final assignment - a one-way trip into the heart of Saturn - Horizon celebrates the incredible achievements and discoveries of a mission that has changed the way we see the solar system. Strange new worlds with gigantic ice geysers, hidden underground oceans that could harbour life and a brand new moon coalescing in Saturn's magnificent rings. As the world says goodbye to the great explorer Cassini, Horizon will be there for with a ringside seat for its final moments.
NASA launches its most ambitious hunt for traces of life on Mars, landing a car-sized rover in a rocky, ancient river delta. The rover will stow samples for possible return to Earth and test technology that may pave the way for human travel to Mars.
The first effort to send human beings to the Moon coincides during Christmastime on Earth.
It started with an order to land something on Mars - cheaply. In NASA's new era of "faster, better, cheaper," this mission had to create a radically different way of building a spacecraft. "The Pathfinders" tells the story of a small group of JPL'ers who dismissed warnings that a cut-rate mission to Earth's distant neighbor would cut short their careers. With a Martian parachute that could not be tested in Earth's atmosphere, and the last-minute addition of a remote controlled vehicle that would not look out of place in a toy store, the Pathfinder mission was a doubter's dream. Vet the future prospects of JPL and of a Mars program in its infancy, depended on bouncing successfully onto the rocky Red Planet and releasing a curious six-wheeled wanderer, in hopes of starting a revolution in space exploration.