The Cold War rivalry accelerates advancements in space exploration; preparations for Hubble's final servicing mission, including the launch and the difficult path to rendezvous; monitoring orbital debris.
The start of NASA, the first manned space program of the United States; the European Space Agency's Mars Satellite; the evolution of Russia's Soyuz launcher.
America's first manned space program finally puts a man in orbit; an array of special cameras follow a spacecraft at launch; the building and operation of the orbiting laboratory.
The Gemini gives the US a lead in the space race; the last days of ESA's Venus probe; NASA's Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit; ESA's worldwide network of giant dishes.
In the Cassini probe's final years of activity, its handlers are asking it to do more complex and risky assignments; an interlinked group of satellites and rovers are paving the way for a manned mission to Mars.
NASA struggles with docking and spacewalks in the final phase of the Gemini project; changing how people think about the red planet; examining Earth's magnetic field.
Evan Clark
Director
