The History of Space Exploration (in Englisch)

An exciting new series examining the frontiers of rocket science and space discovery!

Rocket Science takes an inspired look at the past, present and future of space exploration. Through personal interviews, never-before-seen film footage, and classified tours of top-secret facilities, Rocket Science investigates some of the most exciting moments in the race to reach space. Some of science's most significant breakthroughs are highlighted... everything from breaking the sound barrier, to the exploration of the moon and beyond.

Colorful commentary and personal anecdotes from the personalities who influenced and shaped space flight history add a captivating element of human drama to this unique series. Just a few of the exclusive interviews include: Walter Cronkite, Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield, James Lovell, Frank Borman, Gene Cernan, Wally Schirra and many others.

Rocket Science also visits a variety of locations where groundbreaking research and advancements in aerospace technology took place. These include the legendary Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the facility responsible for developing most of the robotic planetary space probes flown by the United States; Lovelace Clinic, the training and testing ground for NASA astronauts; the Lowell Observatory, where Mars was first mapped, and where astronomers continue to carry out forefront research in all areas of astronomy; and Edwards Air Force Base, the site where the sound barrier was first broken.

Episode Guide

1. THE ROCKETEERS Before NASA, the rocket plane was the preferred route to space.
The history of the X series of aircraft, from Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1 - the plane that broke the sound barrier - to the men (including Neil Armstrong) who flew into space and back aboard the X-15.

2. THE LAST EMPTY SKY The development of the rocket: 1920 to 1957
Robert Goddard's underfunded, largely ignored 1920s development of liquid-fueled rockets parallels Werner Von Braun's civilian rocket club, which ultimately created Hitler's V2 rockets. At war's end, Von Braun and fellow captured scientists were invited to continue their experiments at America's White Sands Missile Range - using their own left-over V2s. Von Braun and his engineers chaffed under Eisenhower's orders to avoid launching their rockets into space even as Russia's Chief Designer, Sergei Korolev, secretly prepared to launch Sputnik into orbit.

3. THE HIGH GROUND The race to launch something - anything into orbit
Reaction to Sputnik finally spun the American program into high gear. The resulting race between America and Russia - and the even nastier competition between the Army and the Navy for the first missile launch. The Space Task Group is formed at Langley AFB to solve the problem. Early Army/Navy rivalry led to a very public failure, the Navy's explosive Vanguard satellite attempt, followed by Von Braun's successful launch of Explorer One aboard a surplus Army missile. Missile Range Number One at Cape Canaveral is slowly transformed into America's first spaceport.

4. MERCURY RISING The race to launch the first human into space
While Mercury astronaut-candidates underwent history's most thorough series of physical and mental tests at Albuquerque's Lovelace Clinic, Soviet Chief Designer Sergei Korolev was readying Yuri Gagarin for the first launch to earth orbit - a flight he had to parachute home from.

5. MISSILES TO THE MOON Kennedy issues the challenge
With less than fifteen minutes experience in space, America sets out on a program to land on the moon within the decade. As their Mercury flights continue, NASA starts figuring out how to achieve this impossible goal.

6. THE LEARNING CURVE NASA invents space travel with Project Gemini
It was a program thrown together out of surplus nuclear missile parts and re-designed Mercury capsules to teach work and survival skills in space. Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Neil Armstrong and others learned long term zero-G endurance, rendezvous, docking and space-walking skills, while living in pairs for up to two immobile weeks at a time in a smaller space than the interior of a VW Beetle.

7. "GO FEVER!" The aftermath of Apollo One puts NASA on track for the moon
In the wake of the pad fire the astronauts assume more control over their missions as a new Apollo program takes shape. NASA prepares to launch Wally Schirra's three man crew in Apollo 7.

8. TEN TIMES FASTER THAN A RIFLE BULLET
Von Braun and his team prepare to launch their masterpiece, the 6 million pound, 25,000 MPH Saturn Five moon rocket. The program takes a disastrous turn as three astronauts are killed in a routine pre-launch test. The causes - and lessons - of Apollo One.

9. "WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON,,," The slow and painful birth of the first true spaceship, and a Christmas voyage around the moon
Work slowly progresses on the Lunar Module, a two-man tinfoil spacecraft light enough to carry men to the surface of the moon. Unexpected delays in the completion of the LM prompt a radical and dangerous change in NASA mission plans, as Apollo 8 - a Command/Service Module combination without the Lunar Module lifeboat is sent into Lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968. The LM is successfully tested in low-earth orbit, the moon landing beckons.


10. "BEFORE THIS DECADE IS OUT" Apollo 11 and the first steps on the moon
What it finally took - from near-fatal crashes in the Lunar Lander Training Vehicle and the Apollo 10 rehearsal flight to the disaster that prematurely ended the Soviet lunar program - to bring Armstrong and Aldrin to the surface of the moon - live on TV.


11. THE UNIVERSE STRIKES BACK Apollo 11 had been a near miss. 12 and 13 were near-disasters
Apollo 12 is struck by lightning two minutes after lift-off. The crew manages to save their powerless craft and laughs about it all the way to the moon. Apollo 13 suffers an explosion and multiple system failure that nobody anticipated, 200,000 miles from home and heading in the wrong direction. Told from the perspective of the flight and mission controllers who brought them back alive. Plus - the return of America's first astronaut, Alan Shepard, the man who golfed on the moon.

12. THE LUNAR LAB The development, deployment and results of the Apollo Lunar Experiments
Ensuring Kennedy's challenge would be more than a walk on the moon, NASA, in conjunction with teams from the U.S. Geological Survey and numerous universities, set out to do real science in an incredibly harsh laboratory. The story of the "J" missions, Apollo 15 through 17, as told by Gene Cernan - the last men to walk on the moon.



Exclusive Interviews

Just a few of the exclusive interviews include:

• Walter Cronkite - offering his own personal observations and interpretations of the space program, as seen from behind his anchor desk.
• Chuck Yeager - The man who shattered the sound barrier in 1947. Exemplar of the "Right Stuff" and the original mold every future astronaut (and military pilot) would emulate.
• Scott Crossfield - First man to travel at twice the speed of sound and the original pilot of the X-15.


• Senator Pete Knight - "Speedy Pete", the first man to fly the X-15 rocket plane into space. He reached an altitude of more than 70 miles at speeds greater than 4,000 MPH. (Mach 6.7)


• John-Paul Stapp - the Air Force Colonel who built and rode rocket sleds beyond the sound barrier.
  
• Joe Kittinger - The first man to ride a pressurized capsule to the edge of space in the pre-NASA days, and the only man to break the sound barrier without an airplane while free-falling back to earth from more than twenty miles up.


• James A. Lovell - commander of the infamous Apollo 13 flight, and the first man ever to travel to the moon twice.


• Frank Borman - the commander of Apollo 8, the first manned lunar orbital mission.


• Scott Carpenter - one of the original seven Mercury Astronauts, Carpenter has the unique distinction of being the only human to ever penetrate both inner and outer space, and acquiring the dual title Astronaut/Aquanaut.


• Gordon Cooper - Another original Mercury Seven astronaut and commander of Gemini Five. He had to manually steer his powerless Mercury spacecraft through a hazardous re-entry when all systems failed after 33 hours in orbit.


• Gene Kranz and Christopher Kraft - the flight controllers who built NASA's Mission Control, launched the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, and brought Apollo 13 back from the edge of disaster.


• Max Faget - Designer of every American spacecraft from Mercury through the Space Shuttle.


• Bonnie Dunbar - offering her unique perspective on women in the NASA space program, and what it means to be a female Astronaut.


• Arthur C. Clarke, Larry Niven, Robert J. Sawyer and Spider Robinson - award winning authors who offer their unique viewpoints on the history of space exploration, and their predictions for the future.


• Wally M. Schirra - the only Astronaut to have flown Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions.

Preis (inkl. Umsatzsteuer, zzgl. Versand): EUR 39.95

A video treasure, this 90 minute DVD offers the complete saga of America's first 40 years in space. Best of all, the historical footage has been restored and edited to broadcast quality, resulting in amazing picture and sound quality. From the original Mercury, Gemini and Apollo flights we join America's astronauts as they brave the unknown to reach the Moon. Then, a visit to the Skylab Space Station. Also included are Voyage to the Planets, Space Shuttle Missions plus The International Space Station and On to Mars. As an added bonus, this DVD includes a 30 minute film on the near-tragic Apollo 13 mission to the moon. A dazzling array of visual material!

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Preis (inkl. Umsatzsteuer, zzgl. Versand): EUR 49.95

This dramatic 83 minute DVD tells the complete Mars story from Man's earliest telescope sightings and wild fantasies, to the most recent images, data and discovery from Pathfinder, Mars Global Surveyor and other spacecraft. The program presents highly detailed views of the planet itself and, best of all, it explores past, present and future missions to Mars, including photos from every Mars mission. Chapters include: Introduction, Similarities, Early Observations, Science Fiction, Mariner, Vikings 1 and 2, Water on Mars, Life on Mars, Pathfinder and Global Surveyor. As a bonus, the NASA film Planet Mars is included on this disc.

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Preis (inkl. Umsatzsteuer, zzgl. Versand): EUR 49.95

Winner of the Cine Golden Eagle Award! This exclusive 72 minute documentary production shows for the first time the complete and historically accurate record of man's greatest adventure. Here, the moon landings are seen from today's perspective, looking back on these events with a clarity and sense of purpose that only time can provide. The presentation takes advantage of DVD's superior picture and sound quality, restoring vintage films and digital remastering for DVD. Chapters include: Introduction, Gemini, The Astronauts, Saturn V, Eagle has Landed!, Experiments, Apollo 13, Apollo 15, The Last Mission and Legacy of Apollo. As a bonus, the NASA film Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Overview is included.

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Preis (inkl. Umsatzsteuer, zzgl. Versand): EUR 49.95

This 90 minute DVD presentation is a comprehensive introduction to the Solar System. It reveals the most dramatic characteristics of our neighbouring planets and their moons since Galileo first aimed his telescope at the heavens, and represents the most complete collection of visuals ever assembled about our Solar System. It includes the best enhanced visuals from unmanned missions, combined with breathtaking supercomputer visualizations that transform spacecraft images into soaring journeys over planetary surfaces, plus detailed animation, narration and a dramatic musical score. Chapters include: The Beginning, Sun, Mercury/Venus, Earth/Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Comets. As a bonus, the JPL film On Robot wings - Flying by the Planets is includes. Fly at a low altitude over Earth, Moon, Mars, Miranda and Venus! An outstanding, gripping presentation guaranteed to rivet student's attention!

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Preis (inkl. Umsatzsteuer, zzgl. Versand): EUR 49.95