Atomic Age Declassified

The bombing of Japan, the Soviet’s “First Lightning” test, and America’s H-bomb detonations were powerful signs that the Nuclear Age was upon us. But as recently declassified files reveal, explosive events were also carried out in secret. Discover how far the U.S. government went to protect its Cold War intel and how close the world came to total annihilation. From the framing of Ethel Rosenberg to radiation experiments on unsuspecting civilians, this is a grim look at the quieter side of the Atomic Age.

While the world was captivated by NASA’s Apollo moon missions in the 1960s, the U.S. military was developing a parallel space program, an orbiting spy station that would gather high-res photographs of Soviet weapons systems. The mission was hidden from the public from the time it was established in 1961 until it was finally declassified decades later. Presented through recently released footage and interviews with astronauts involved in the top-secret program, this is a behind-the-scenes look at the Manned Orbiting Laboratory.