Failure to Launch

Sending spacecraft into orbit is an unforgiving business. Every launch is a long, controlled explosion that can turn into a fiery spectacle at the smallest error. Join us as we examine space exploration’s most disastrous liftoffs, from America’s “risky rockets” (the Vanguard, Atlas, and Titan II) to the Nedelin catastrophe, a massive explosion that Russia kept secret for decades. Then see how lessons learned from early failures led to soaring triumphs, including the most famous and powerful rocket the world has ever launched: the Saturn V.