The Race to the Moon

2003 · Documentary

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took man's first steps on the moon. Roughly one billion awestruck people watched the lunar landing on television, but very few realized how close it came to disaster. THE RACE TO THE MOON combines top programming from A&E and THE HISTORY CHANNEL to deliver the ultimate 35th anniversary celebration of this world-changing event. Experience the ultimate insider's view of the Apollo space program by the man who served as NASA's primary flight director for over 30 years and examine recently declassified documents revealing NASA's plans to send men to Saturn by 1970. Take a nostalgic trip with Mike Wallace back to the early days of the space program, and return to the present-day triumphs and tragedies of one of our greatest technological achievements -- the Space Shuttle.

Episodes

▶1. Race to the Moon: Failure Is Not an Option90m · Retired NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz recalls the "whiz kid" atmosphere of the space program's early days and the exploits of the astronauts who took our dreams to the moon.▶2. Code Name: Project Orion44m · Explore the grand dreams of the top-secret US space program in the 1950s. Renowned physicists like Freeman Dyson discuss visions of battleship-sized rockets and spaceships hitched to comets.▶3. Modern Marvels: Apollo 1346m · An unexpected disaster leaves the crew of Apollo 13 lost in space. In many ways, this failed moon mission is one of NASA's finest moments.▶4. Modern Marvels: The Space Shuttle47m · The complete story of the shuttle, from its conception in the 1950s to its triumphant launch in 1981. Plus, an exclusive peek at the next-generation space shuttle, the futuristic X-33.