0:00:05 > 0:00:07This is our home.
0:00:10 > 0:00:15From up here it looks the same as it has done for thousands of years.
0:00:15 > 0:00:20But if you get a bit closer, you can see we've made a few changes.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25We've been busy redesigning our world.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Wherever you look...
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Welcome to the top of the world!
0:00:33 > 0:00:36..you'll see the scale of this supersized transformation.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Just don't whatever you do look down.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Our generation is changing the face of the planet as never before.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54I'm Dallas Campbell,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57and I'll show you how we're shaping the modern world.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Ah - whey!
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Today we've harnessed our pioneering sprit.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09That was a bumpy ride.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13And we can travel further and faster than at any point in human history.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17Just one more inch.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20This is bumper to bumper parking.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Our desire to move is inspiring some of the most extraordinary
0:01:24 > 0:01:26engineering projects on the planet.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33We're forging new connections that are changing the way we live.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40We are making the impossible possible.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Today billions of us can travel across the planet
0:02:01 > 0:02:02in a matter of hours.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09But that everyday miracle started in a rather humble way.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18On the December 17th, 1903, on this very sand dune,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22two brothers made a journey that was going to change everything.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24They were trying out this radical new form of transportation
0:02:24 > 0:02:26that was going to give us
0:02:26 > 0:02:30the power to travel further than we've ever travelled before.
0:02:30 > 0:02:35And the distance they made on that day was extraordinary.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36120 feet.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43I know it doesn't sound very far,
0:02:43 > 0:02:47but that 36 metres triggered a whole century of innovation.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Those two men were the Wright brothers.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57And the invention they're known for is the aeroplane.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03But it wouldn't have been possible without this,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06the glider they built the year before.
0:03:14 > 0:03:20Until they cracked how to ride the wind and steer through the breeze,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23no-one could begin to conquer the skies.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29The Wright brothers achieved this in such a simple way
0:03:29 > 0:03:33that apparently even I should be able to get the hang of it.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34There you go.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41The canard wing in front controls going up and down,
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Wow, look at that.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Put some weight in that harness. Good. There you go, good reaction.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50To turn, the Wright brothers
0:03:50 > 0:03:53banked the wings against the wind by twisting them.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Do you want to try shifting your weight?
0:03:55 > 0:03:57OK, I'll try the other way.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59There you go.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02And this is warping. Oh, God, yeah, yeah.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04And they put a rudder on the back.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Yeah, that's good correction.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10This is an exact replica of their glider.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12Excellent!
0:04:12 > 0:04:15And I can just imagine how they must have felt.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Nose up, excellent. Nose all the way up.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23Woo! Hoo, hoo hoo!
0:04:23 > 0:04:25It's this glider
0:04:25 > 0:04:28that makes all those airplanes that we fly today possible.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35This was the moment we unlocked the secret to human flight.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39It launched a dramatic revolution in the way we move around the globe,
0:04:39 > 0:04:43and that helped transform our planet.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Wowee!
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Nose it up.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54LANDS NOISILY
0:04:54 > 0:04:55Great flight.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57MAN CLAPS
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Wooh!
0:05:03 > 0:05:08Today we can travel from continent to continent in a single bound.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It's as though we've brought the whole world to our doorstep.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Paris now feels like a suburb of London.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30New York's just seven hours away.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32It used to be a five-day trip by boat!
0:05:36 > 0:05:39All the world is suddenly within reach.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Journeys that were once-in-a-lifetime
0:05:44 > 0:05:46are now weekly commutes.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48CAR HORNS BEEP
0:05:48 > 0:05:51Ours is the generation that shrunk the world.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06In amongst our transport revolution there's a real unsung hero.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09The road.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15It sounds obvious, but it's only when you take a road away
0:06:15 > 0:06:18that you appreciate how useful it is.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23And that's something I'm going to put to the test.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27With a little help from the off-road world champion.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45We're up a mountain in the worst weather Wales can throw at us.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48The test is simple - who can get to the bottom first?
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It's difficult to know, what do you think - off-road v road?
0:06:53 > 0:06:55I get the easy job, I just have to follow the road.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57You're going to go the shortest possible route
0:06:57 > 0:06:59- by hurling yourself off a mountain. - Straight down.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01- I have to do a bit of a wiggle. - A bit of a zigzag.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- My bike's better than yours as well, so that's...- Don't say that!
0:07:04 > 0:07:07This is my bike. This is my bog-standard from the shop bike.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09It's not bad.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11- OK, shall we do it? - Yeah. Good luck.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12Good luck.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14- See you down there. - See you down there.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17Come on!
0:07:17 > 0:07:20Going by road should allow me to go faster.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22I'm going the wrong way!
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Yes!
0:07:24 > 0:07:28But is it really going to make me a match for Rachel Atherton?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Both routes drop 267 metres to the village below.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46But whilst Rachel hurls herself straight down the hillside,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49I've a got a long and winding road to negotiate.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Oh, thank you! Watch out please!
0:07:54 > 0:07:58Travelling quickly off-road takes bravery, takes skill.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00You've got to have a bit of a screw loose.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05But the reason roads are fast is simple.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Dedicated routes, free of obstacles and as smooth as technology allows.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Which means people like me can travel at speeds
0:08:13 > 0:08:15that our distant ancestors could only dream of.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18Come on!
0:08:20 > 0:08:25FAST BANJO MUSIC PLAYS
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Cattle grid!
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Oh, oi, oi - that was terrifying, but I made it!
0:08:38 > 0:08:40SHE LAUGHS
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Wow!
0:08:42 > 0:08:43That was tiring.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49- Oh, that was slippery. So much mud. - That was quite hardcore.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51You couldn't see where you were going.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Another one?- No, thank you.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57I'm devastated. I was sure I had the win.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05The road will take you from Lands End to John O'Groats
0:09:05 > 0:09:07and pretty much anywhere in between.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Britain now has 250,000 miles of roads.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20They're part of a record-breaking expansion of road networks
0:09:20 > 0:09:21all over the globe.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27But the biggest road builder isn't perhaps the most obvious.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30It's certainly not back at home in Britain.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33And it's not up-and-coming Mexico.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39It's not even America, the home of the automobile.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46No, it's the world's newest superpower.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49China.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01The thing is, the landscape in many parts of China
0:10:01 > 0:10:05makes getting from A to B quite a challenge.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07It's like Scotland on steroids.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10God, the mountains are so steep!
0:10:11 > 0:10:13And that means almost every road
0:10:13 > 0:10:16has to be an incredible feat of engineering.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18But that hasn't stopped the Chinese.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22To shrink their vast country,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26they've traversed ravines, tunnelled through mountains
0:10:26 > 0:10:29and crossed some of the world's widest rivers.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37This is the fourth Nanjing Bridge spanning the Yangtze River.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41It's one of the longest single span suspension bridges in the world.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47Or at least it will be when it's finished
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Hey, how's it going?
0:10:58 > 0:10:59Thank you.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10I'm about to join a team of bridge builders preparing
0:11:10 > 0:11:13the suspension cables so the road can be attached.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Thank you, thank you very much.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24'That means going 220 metres up
0:11:24 > 0:11:27'and nearly a kilometre along.'
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Oh, that is immense, look at that.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44To work on the main suspension cable,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47a temporary walkway has been installed.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51For me, it feels a little too temporary.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Look how high up we are, and look how...
0:11:56 > 0:11:58OK...
0:12:01 > 0:12:04God, this is scary. Just get over this...
0:12:29 > 0:12:31I'm proper scared, genuinely proper scared.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34Coming down here, it's so steep.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I don't even know how high we are. But, like, stupid high.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39And these scaffold boards just seem really rickety.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42And you can see where all the scaffold boards are actually missing
0:12:42 > 0:12:44and you've got to walk over chicken wire.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48But it will be worth it for the view. Come on.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Oh, man, this is mad!
0:12:56 > 0:13:01This is like... I'm actually para... This is stupid.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08OK, I'm going to hold on here.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10This is the bit, I'm going to not look down.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Thinking about tightrope walking.
0:13:16 > 0:13:22Thinking about just being very cool and looking ahead.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27100 metres ahead of me,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30the high-wire team is working on the cables.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36As with all suspension bridges, the road will be hung from
0:13:36 > 0:13:40the two main cables via smaller vertical ones.
0:13:42 > 0:13:48Right now, they're installing collars to join the cables together.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57What I like is you're walking down here, and everything's going well,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00and you'll just see the occasional hole in the wire.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04This is good, I'm enjoying it now.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07From panic and fear to actual enjoyment.
0:14:09 > 0:14:10By the time I arrive,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14I'm too late to do anything but admire their handiwork.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Yeah, you might want to tighten that!
0:14:20 > 0:14:22And that!
0:14:24 > 0:14:28The secret to building a bridge on this scale isn't just bravery,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31it also depends on a remarkable property of steel.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Look a little bit closer
0:14:35 > 0:14:39and you realise that actually it is not a cable at all, it is
0:14:39 > 0:14:43actually made up of thousands and thousands of smaller wires like this.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45It is a little bit like if you pull
0:14:45 > 0:14:48a thread from your jumper, like a really, really fine thread,
0:14:48 > 0:14:53then this is the suspension bridge equivalent of that, if you like.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00Using thousands of smaller wires rather than one thick cable
0:15:00 > 0:15:02is what makes this bridge so robust.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08In fact, the process of stretching the steel into wires
0:15:08 > 0:15:10makes its up to seven times stronger.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18In total, there are 17,000 wires in this bridge.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Allowing it to carry an incredible 330,000 tonnes.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35This is the end of the road, for the moment at least.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37In 12 months' time, right where I'm standing,
0:15:37 > 0:15:41lorries and cars are going to be whizzing by and this bridge
0:15:41 > 0:15:43will be finished, connecting this area, connecting people.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51And the Chinese haven't stopped at just crossing rivers.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54In the centre of the country is a road that's been
0:15:54 > 0:15:57heralded as one of the engineering marvels of the world.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01The road we're on is called the G50.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10It stretches for almost 1,200 miles, connecting
0:16:10 > 0:16:13one of the remotest areas of central China to Shanghai.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20And nothing has been allowed to stand in its way.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27One minute you're plunged into the bowels of a mountain -
0:16:27 > 0:16:30and the next you're suspended in mid-air.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36It's an incredible feat,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40and achieving it has included building the world's highest bridge.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Actually, it's not that one,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51it's this one - the Siduhe Bridge.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Pretty epic, isn't it?
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Not the longest bridge in the world, but the view from up here...
0:17:19 > 0:17:23It soars half a kilometre above the valley floor.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26You could fit the Empire State Building underneath it -
0:17:26 > 0:17:29with room to spare.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34It's so high, and the slopes are so steep,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37that they had to use a rocket to fire the first cable
0:17:37 > 0:17:39from one side of the valley to the other.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46This bridge hasn't just transformed the landscape,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49it's transformed the lives of its inhabitants.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02For Christmas I'm buying you a new heater for your van.
0:18:02 > 0:18:03It's very cold.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06I've been trying to fix it, but I can't get it to work.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13The G50 has dramatically cut Soo Chee Yang's delivery times.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18A daily journey that used to take 12 hours has been slashed to three.
0:18:18 > 0:18:23Do you get to see friends in different places that you can now get to quicker?
0:18:43 > 0:18:47For over 70 years, the world's highest bridge was
0:18:47 > 0:18:51a wooden-planked affair in the American Rocky Mountains.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56But in the last decade the Chinese have broken that record
0:18:56 > 0:19:01not once, but again and again and again and again and again...
0:19:03 > 0:19:06On this stretch of road they didn't just have to build
0:19:06 > 0:19:07the highest bridge in the world,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10they had to build NINE of the highest bridges.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15In fact, China now has half of the world's top 100 highest bridges,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18all of them built in the last couple of decades.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23This extraordinary stretch of road is just a small link in one
0:19:23 > 0:19:27of the biggest and fastest building projects in history.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36In 1989, China had fewer than 100 miles of express way.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Now it has well over 50,000 -
0:19:40 > 0:19:43that's more than the entire European Union.
0:19:44 > 0:19:48This is building on such scale and speed that it's eclipsed
0:19:48 > 0:19:53America's interstate network - all 47,000 miles of it.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58And China has done all of this in just a couple of decades.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Of course, it's not the roads themselves that have shrunk our world.
0:20:07 > 0:20:10What's harnessed their speed are the things we put on them.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16They come in all shapes and sizes.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Some are functional and some are for fun.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25And we can't get enough of them.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Right now, there are 260 million motorbikes on our roads.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36There are millions of taxis,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38even if none are where you need them right now.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44And hundreds of millions of trucks are busy moving all our stuff
0:20:44 > 0:20:46from place to place.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53But the real vehicle of choice is, of course, the car.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Over 700 million of them stand ready to take us where we want,
0:20:57 > 0:20:58when we want.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04In fact, last year it's thought
0:21:04 > 0:21:08the number of vehicles on the planet passed the one billion mark.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17That's enough to create a car park the size of the Grand Canyon.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Cars haven't just changed the way we move,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34they've changed the way we live.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Once upon a time, you'd have wanted your place of work
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and all your shops that you visit
0:21:45 > 0:21:47actually on the street where you live.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51But, of course, once you're in your car, the miles just don't matter.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56In America, they've designed their cities around the automobile.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00'Good afternoon and welcome to Tom's Burgers, Marcia speaking, what can I get for you?'
0:22:00 > 0:22:02I'll have the breakfast burrito, please.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04It can be a mobile restaurant.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- All righty, there you go. - Hi, Marcia. Wow, that's heavy.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- Yes.- That is some burrito.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11Ha-ha, that is a house brick!
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Or a place to do your laundry.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19There's even drive-thru pawn.
0:22:21 > 0:22:23See how much you can give me for my watch.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26The best I can do is like a 25 dollar loan on it.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29- 25 dollars? - It's a Japanese movement, man.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34It's even possible to spend the most special day of your life in the car.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Thanks to the awesome power of the internet,
0:22:40 > 0:22:42and 20 dollars for the certificate,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45I have been ordained as a member of the clergy
0:22:45 > 0:22:47of the Church of Spiritual Humanism.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50There you go. Look, Robert Dallas Campbell, full name.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52All I need now is a couple to marry.
0:22:54 > 0:22:55Here they are.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Ah.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Hi there. How are you guys doing today?
0:23:01 > 0:23:03Good, how are you?
0:23:03 > 0:23:06I'm very well, actually, I'm probably a bit more nervous than you are.
0:23:06 > 0:23:12Travis and Brittany, do you have the tokens of love for each other, the rings?
0:23:14 > 0:23:16OK.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20The rings that you give to each other today
0:23:20 > 0:23:25are a precious gift to one another and represent a never-ending circle of love,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29and a wonderful reminder for all to see of the love that you share.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35- Do you, Travis, take Brittany to be your wife?- I do.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38- And with this ring.- And with this ring.- And with this ring.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41- I thee wed you.- I thee wed you. - I wed you.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45I now pronounce you husband and wife, all over again.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47You may now kiss the bride.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49# Nice day for a white wedding... #
0:23:49 > 0:23:51All emotional.
0:23:53 > 0:23:59# It's a nice day to start again... #
0:24:06 > 0:24:09There is a problem with our love affair with the car -
0:24:09 > 0:24:12they've become a victim of their own success.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17If we all use them at the same time, our roads can't cope.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20But whilst we're sitting, bumper to bumper, fuming...
0:24:24 > 0:24:27..engineers have come up with a radical approach to beating the queues.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31It doesn't get rid of the cars.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34But it does get rid of the drivers.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Meet Shelley.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45The ultimate backseat driver. Not only can she map read,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47she can do the steering, as well.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Shelley is, in fact, a robot racing car.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59A car so good at driving,
0:24:59 > 0:25:03the hope is with her at wheel we can safely squeeze more cars
0:25:03 > 0:25:04onto our roads.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Although perhaps not at these speeds.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20It does about 120mph down the straight
0:25:20 > 0:25:22firing right into the first turn.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25That's quick, isn't it? I am kind of like checking to
0:25:25 > 0:25:27make sure you haven't got a remote control.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28Nothing, no hands.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29No hands!
0:25:32 > 0:25:34The car is currently a prototype
0:25:34 > 0:25:37which means there isn't much room in the back for your luggage.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43But it does have just enough room to squeeze two up front.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50So I'm about to trust my life to a 300bhp computer.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Three, two, one, begin.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01We're off.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08For now, the car can do a lap of the track a smidge off the course record.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Man, that's fast.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14The one set by humans, that is.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Ooh!
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Every so often I am just looking over to you just to check you are not doing anything.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26Not doing anything.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31Every improvement takes the team
0:26:31 > 0:26:34nearer to their ultimate goal - to build a car
0:26:34 > 0:26:37that's a lot better at driving than you.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46Well, we're up to 80 miles an hour!
0:26:46 > 0:26:51You can start to sense the back end twitches a bit,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54all the car's sensors pick that up and it compensates.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58That's exactly right. It can tell what the tyres are doing,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and the moment it starts to feel it wiggle, it will actually counter steer and catch you.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Most of the systems that allow Shelley
0:27:05 > 0:27:09to race around a track are already available in your everyday car.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14From power steering and sat navs, to traction control.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17What Shelley does is tie everything together.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22That last turn was about as fast as the car can possibly take it.
0:27:29 > 0:27:30CAR HORN USED AS BEEP
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Cars without drivers are still some way off,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37and, to be honest, they take a bit of getting used to.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40It feels so smooth.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55So, for now, if we want to beat the traffic,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59the way millions of us choose to do it is hidden underground.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06It is almost 8 o'clock in the morning, it's time to go to work.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10This is the point where this city really starts to move.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19In the next few hours, one in six Londoners will cross this city.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24For the most part, these journeys are invisible.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33But just imagine if you could see exactly how the trains
0:28:33 > 0:28:34move across the city.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38Imagine if the underground was overground.
0:28:44 > 0:28:49Some lines run so deep that if they were the same distance above ground
0:28:49 > 0:28:51they'd be ten storeys high.
0:29:07 > 0:29:08We may take it for granted,
0:29:08 > 0:29:13but every day, over 500 trains, on 250 miles of track,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16move nearly three million people.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30But mass transportation isn't just about moving people.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36It's also about bringing the world to us.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39RADIO TUNES IN
0:29:39 > 0:29:42MUSIC PLAYS
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Hundreds of billions of pounds worth of our stuff arrives
0:29:51 > 0:29:54into Britain every year.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Something that didn't happen in the 1950s.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Isn't this an amazing room! It is like stepping back in time.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06All these great materials. The Bakelite telephone
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and an old plastic camera.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Look at that telly, less flat-screen more fat screen.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17This room comes from a time before
0:30:17 > 0:30:21most of our modern transport networks were built, and it shows.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23In fact, that white lamp up there
0:30:23 > 0:30:25and that ashtray, are the only two things that come from abroad.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Take them out and this whole room was made in Britain.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38Fast forward to today and things are a little different.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40PHONE RINGS
0:30:40 > 0:30:42# You bring it to me
0:30:42 > 0:30:45# Bring your sweet loving
0:30:45 > 0:30:48# Bring it on home to me
0:30:48 > 0:30:51# Yeah, yeah, yeah... #
0:30:54 > 0:30:58The computer - made in China - as are these cushions.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Made in China. The telly and the DVD player, made in Hungary.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Flowers - China - plastic.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10The vase was made in Lithuania.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13If I take away all the stuff that wasn't made in Britain,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16the room is suddenly a lot less homely.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20In fact, only the sofa's left. That was made in Nottingham.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23It's astonishing to think that in just a few decades
0:31:23 > 0:31:28the journey your stuff has taken to get to you has changed
0:31:28 > 0:31:33from a trip down the road to a trip from all four corners of the world.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35And behind that revolution
0:31:35 > 0:31:40is an extraordinary, technological innovation - the box.
0:31:49 > 0:31:52The humble shipping container might seem an unlikely hero
0:31:52 > 0:31:56but it's had a huge effect on our lives -
0:31:56 > 0:31:59bringing the world to our doorstep.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05Every year, 16 million boxes are on the move.
0:32:07 > 0:32:12Altogether, they travel about 400 billion miles - that's enough
0:32:12 > 0:32:16to get to Neptune and back - 145 times!
0:32:23 > 0:32:27Behind their utilitarian exteriors
0:32:27 > 0:32:30are the vital ingredients of modern life.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33This is the "what's in the boxes" list.
0:32:33 > 0:32:39Container 1551063 is men's cotton working shorts.
0:32:39 > 0:32:45In box 1619034, craft paper - 65% polyester... Resins...
0:32:45 > 0:32:48..and 35% cotton. Scrap metal. Padded jackets.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52..5645 is completely empty.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Containers have made things cheap.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Boxes that are all the same shape are easy to stack
0:33:07 > 0:33:10and get on and off ships.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Today, the cost of moving something half way around the world
0:33:14 > 0:33:18is typically less than 1% of its price.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26And there's a way to make it cheaper still.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Build even bigger ships.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46To create the world's biggest container ships,
0:33:46 > 0:33:49you need some supersized ingredients.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53Including a work force of 50,000.
0:34:02 > 0:34:07This is the crank shaft that drives the propeller. It's massive.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Sort of the size of my house.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15And you need some cheap labour to do a bit of polishing.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19- It's very tactile, you kind of want to touch it. It's gorgeous.- Yes.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28I can't believe I'm actually inside an engine.
0:34:28 > 0:34:29Hand greasing a bearing.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36Then, to piece it all together,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39you need the mother of all cranes,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43capable of lifting over 1,000 tonnes.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47Operating it is Mr Ju Sung-jong.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51With 27 years experience, he's a cool hand.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55In the world of crane operators, are you sort of A-list?
0:34:57 > 0:35:00He has to move pieces of ship
0:35:00 > 0:35:03the size of buildings and place them with millimetre precision.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18All of this, so you can build a ship
0:35:18 > 0:35:22that's taller than Nelsons' Column, longer than the Eiffel Tower
0:35:22 > 0:35:26and capable of holding 13,000 containers.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33If this ship wasn't extraordinary enough,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35because of our desire for so much stuff that comes in boxes,
0:35:35 > 0:35:38they're turning out 100 of these a year.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41That's getting on for a ship every three days.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46They are the lifeblood of our consumer generation.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Of course, some things that need to be moved
0:36:01 > 0:36:03don't fit in boxes.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Like this.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17This is the Ocean Monarch. It's spent decades drilling for oil.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24But its work here in the Gulf of Mexico is done.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35It's actually bigger than Buckingham Palace.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37It's almost 40 years old.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39But it hasn't come to the end of its life yet.
0:36:39 > 0:36:42In fact, today, that drilling rig is about to go
0:36:42 > 0:36:45on a very, very long journey to the other side of the world.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54It's needed on a new job in Vietnam in 65 days.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57So it has to hitch a ride.
0:37:03 > 0:37:04This is the Blue Marlin.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08It's kind of a giant, floating flat-bed truck
0:37:08 > 0:37:11that can move things that weren't ever really meant to be moved.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16With a deck the size of two football pitches,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19there is just enough room for the Ocean Monarch.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26That's if they can get the 42,000-tonne rig on board first.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35No crane in the world can lift that kind of load.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38So, there's only one thing for it.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41The crew of the Blue Marlin have to sink their ship.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00It's from down here, way below the water line,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03that the Blue Marlin gets its lifting power.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07This whole operation works by the fact that this vessel
0:38:07 > 0:38:11is part ship, part submarine, part flat-bed truck.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15On the other side of these walls, you've got these vast ballast tanks
0:38:15 > 0:38:18which at the moment are empty, which is why we're afloat. They give us buoyancy.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21As soon as you want to submerge yourselves,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23and lower the ship's profile in the water,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26all you have to do is pump seawater in and down you go.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29When you want to come back up again, all you have to do is pump it out.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46A century after the Titanic was thought to be unsinkable,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49we've built a boat that's designed to sink.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54This feels really surreal.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57You know, like so many engineering solutions,
0:38:57 > 0:38:59the beauty of this is the simplicity.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02If you wanted to pick something up from the ocean,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05what better way than to scoop it up from the bottom.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16The whole operation takes 12 hours.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Because, after all, if you're deliberately trying to sink your ship,
0:39:19 > 0:39:21you don't want to do it too quickly.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33Reality is becoming more and more like a Hollywood action movie.
0:39:41 > 0:39:45By the next morning, it's as if the boat never existed.
0:39:47 > 0:39:50Our boat has just vanished overnight.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55Yesterday, we were on this huge, great, behemoth ship
0:39:55 > 0:39:58and suddenly it's all just gone.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02And we're left standing on just this little stub.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11The ship has sunk an astounding 25 metres underwater -
0:40:11 > 0:40:13that's the height of an eight-storey building.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25Before the heavy lifting can begin,
0:40:25 > 0:40:28the rig needs to be towed into exactly the right position.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34If it's out by a matter of centimetres, it could be seriously damaged.
0:40:34 > 0:40:38Out by much more, and it would destabilise the ship.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45As it is, steering this thing is like having to control
0:40:45 > 0:40:48a floating office block.
0:40:48 > 0:40:53- That is a very impressive piece of parking.- Yeah.
0:40:53 > 0:40:58I struggle to parallel park my car but you guys make it look easy.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00You have to learn something from this.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03I'm watching and learning.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06If the wind rises just five more knots,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08the whole mission will have to be aborted.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16Someone's going to pull the boat in and have a look
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and make sure it's all touching, it's all perfect.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23One more inch, another inch.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32This is bumper to bumper parking.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34- They've got to get it so it just touches.- Yes.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39That's how I park at home, park it by Braille, bumper to bumper.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Done it?
0:41:44 > 0:41:45Very good.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Now it's time to pump 100,000 tonnes of water
0:41:53 > 0:41:55back out of those ballast tanks...
0:42:05 > 0:42:08..allowing the Blue Marlin to take the full weight
0:42:08 > 0:42:11of one of the world's largest drilling rigs.
0:42:41 > 0:42:45The oceans the Blue Marlin will cross are now bustling highways
0:42:45 > 0:42:49filled with thousands of ships carrying cargo across the globe.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53In 1970, ten ports accounted for
0:42:53 > 0:42:56nearly half of the goods on the move.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00Belfast was then number five.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07Today, six of the world's top ten ports are in China,
0:43:07 > 0:43:10and they alone move 25 times as much stuff
0:43:10 > 0:43:13as the entire world did just 40 years ago.
0:43:15 > 0:43:19These new connections have helped create our modern world.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28But there are others that have transformed it.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35It's the pioneering achievement of the Wright brothers all those years ago
0:43:35 > 0:43:37that has made the biggest difference.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41To really shrink the world, you've got to take to the air.
0:43:57 > 0:43:59By learning to fly,
0:43:59 > 0:44:03we began a transport revolution that continues to change our lives.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Papa, X-ray. Runway 3-1.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10The winds 3-5-0, 11 gusts 17. Taxi, Echo...
0:44:10 > 0:44:14Gander is over 500 miles from any major city.
0:44:16 > 0:44:21Not the most obvious place to build an airport as large as this one.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24It might look sleepy, but 50 years ago,
0:44:24 > 0:44:26this was one of the busiest,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29one of the biggest aviation hubs on the planet.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34'Gander International Airport, the air centre of Newfoundland
0:44:34 > 0:44:38'and jumping off point for many overseas flights.'
0:44:38 > 0:44:40In the '40s and '50s,
0:44:40 > 0:44:43almost every transatlantic flight would stop at Gander.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48It was the crossroads of the world for one simple reason.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53Back in the day, planes just couldn't carry enough fuel
0:44:53 > 0:44:56to be able to make the big transatlantic crossings,
0:44:56 > 0:44:58and this is actually the first suitable bit of terrain
0:44:58 > 0:45:00that pilots could actually land on.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09The number of planes refuelling here made Gander busier than Heathrow.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16But then we designed something that would change that for ever.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23In 1969, a company in Washington State in the north-west of America
0:45:23 > 0:45:29built what is perhaps the most important commercial airliner ever made.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31A true giant of the skies,
0:45:31 > 0:45:35it can carry almost 500 people halfway across the world.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38It is, of course, the 747, the jumbo jet.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41And this is the very first one.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43# Come fly with me
0:45:43 > 0:45:46# Let's fly, let's fly away
0:45:48 > 0:45:51# If you can use some exotic booze
0:45:51 > 0:45:54# There's a bar in far Bombay... #
0:45:54 > 0:45:58A 747 could cross the Atlantic with plenty of fuel to spare.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02And when it first took flight, it was the height of sophistication...
0:46:02 > 0:46:04# Come fly with me
0:46:04 > 0:46:06# Let's float down to Peru... #
0:46:06 > 0:46:11..a double-decker jet, sporting a space age first class cabin.
0:46:11 > 0:46:12# There's a one-man band
0:46:12 > 0:46:15# And he'll toot his flute for you... #
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Of course, what made this plane a game-changer
0:46:17 > 0:46:20wasn't the natty first-class cabin,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23it was actually the economy seats downstairs,
0:46:23 > 0:46:24because with all this space,
0:46:24 > 0:46:28you could get a lot more people on board, ticket prices came down
0:46:28 > 0:46:31and suddenly travelling the world became affordable.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38I think I'll have a gin and tonic. Can I have a gin and tonic? Please.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42# Come fly with me Let's fly, let's fly away... #
0:46:42 > 0:46:4540 years ago, the 747 could carry twice as many people
0:46:45 > 0:46:48as any other aircraft,
0:46:48 > 0:46:51kick-starting the age of budget travel.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53# Pack a small bag. #
0:47:02 > 0:47:04Today, it's been redesigned
0:47:04 > 0:47:07and now it carries a very different kind of cargo.
0:47:09 > 0:47:10There she is.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15And this is the result.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Not quite as pretty, perhaps, as the original 747,
0:47:18 > 0:47:22but it can hold three times the volume.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Apparently, the president of Boeing
0:47:25 > 0:47:27had to apologise to the designer of the 747
0:47:27 > 0:47:29for what he did to his plane.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36'And it's not more people that they cram inside here.'
0:47:36 > 0:47:38- Wow, it is surreal, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40- A plane in a plane - A plane in a plane.
0:47:40 > 0:47:44- A pregnant plane. Prepared to give birth to another plane.- Yeah.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48There are just four of these in the world,
0:47:48 > 0:47:50and they're used for only thing -
0:47:50 > 0:47:53to transport whole sections of brand-new planes.
0:47:56 > 0:47:59I'm amazed just what a tight squeeze it is.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01I mean, literally, down the edge there, that's inches.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04Exactly right. Up at the top, you'll notice...
0:48:04 > 0:48:07There's about 12 inches up there at the top, the gap.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11Making planes has become a global business.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Sections are built all over the world
0:48:14 > 0:48:17and then assembled here in Seattle.
0:48:18 > 0:48:22This plane is big enough to carry all the prefabricated parts.
0:48:22 > 0:48:27But, a bit like a ship in a bottle, getting them out is a little tricky.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29The Boeing engineers made one more change.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33They added a hinge. A pretty big hinge.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56By swinging the tail out of the way,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00they can use every last centimetre of space.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04This is the only way that nose cones, tail fins
0:49:04 > 0:49:08and even wings, get across the world fast enough
0:49:08 > 0:49:10to keep the planes rolling off the production line.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15There we go, that's it.
0:49:15 > 0:49:16Off she goes.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18That's the birth of a brand-new aeroplane.
0:49:22 > 0:49:24With this kind of technology,
0:49:24 > 0:49:29we've turned the whole world into a supersized factory.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31If you just take the fuselage, the front bit,
0:49:31 > 0:49:34the nose bit there, was made in Kansas.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36The bit behind that was made in Japan,
0:49:36 > 0:49:39the centre bit was made in Italy,
0:49:39 > 0:49:41these beautiful wings here were made in Japan,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44but the wing tips were made in Busan in Korea,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47and the landing gear made in Gloucester in the UK.
0:49:52 > 0:49:57It's all put together inside the biggest building in the world.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00100 acres under one roof -
0:50:00 > 0:50:04that's enough space to cram in the whole of Disneyland.
0:50:08 > 0:50:09By thinking globally
0:50:09 > 0:50:13we've realised the elusive dreams of previous generations...
0:50:16 > 0:50:19..and now, more of us than ever are taking to the skies.
0:50:29 > 0:50:31Every day above London
0:50:31 > 0:50:36over 3,500 planes hurtle through the air.
0:50:39 > 0:50:40The skies over the capital
0:50:40 > 0:50:44are amongst the busiest and most crowded in the world.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49And these are just the flights over one city.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55Each year, across the globe,
0:50:55 > 0:50:58five billion journeys are flown.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05We have truly defied gravity
0:51:05 > 0:51:10and turned the sky into a place of work, rest and play.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23Right now, at any moment, a million people are suspended in the air.
0:51:39 > 0:51:40With stunning ambition,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44we've connected the furthest reaches of our globe
0:51:44 > 0:51:46and made travel easier than ever before.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52But this still isn't enough.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58What was once beyond the frontiers of human travel
0:51:58 > 0:52:00is becoming a regular commute...
0:52:01 > 0:52:03..for a chosen few.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09Every morning, I get up, go for a little jog with my Labrador,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13take my very obstinate Jack Russell for a walk,
0:52:13 > 0:52:17and then I'm usually scurrying around the house, trying to get ready.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19'Like many of us around the world,
0:52:19 > 0:52:21'Sunita Williams is a regular commuter.'
0:52:23 > 0:52:26At 7.30 in the morning, on the way to work, everybody's going to school,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29everyone's going to work, and it ends up...
0:52:29 > 0:52:32For two miles, it ends up taking sometimes about 15, 20 minutes,
0:52:32 > 0:52:34just because it's busy.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37But, luckily, there's a Starbucks on the way and a kolache place,
0:52:37 > 0:52:41so it's nice to stop sometimes and get breakfast on the way.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45But sometimes Suni has to work out of town.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49And for that, she takes a ride on this.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04I'll be launching and going up to the International Space Station
0:53:04 > 0:53:06and I'll be spending probably about four months up there.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10Captain Sunita Williams is an astronaut.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15In just a few days,
0:53:15 > 0:53:19she's going to fly on board this Soyuz rocket to her new office.
0:53:23 > 0:53:26That's a journey of 250 miles straight up.
0:53:35 > 0:53:39The trip to space itself takes just nine minutes.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42That's half the time of Suni's regular commute...
0:53:45 > 0:53:47..something that the Wright brothers
0:53:47 > 0:53:49would have thought utterly unbelievable.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03The really important thing about that rocket
0:54:03 > 0:54:05is not just that it goes into space,
0:54:05 > 0:54:08not even that it takes people into space,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11but the fact that it does it on a regular basis.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13It means we've turned the most distant,
0:54:13 > 0:54:17the most hostile environment of outer space into our home.
0:54:19 > 0:54:24To achieve this, the Russians have become the IKEA of rocket science.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31They prefabricate all the rocket's sections
0:54:31 > 0:54:34so they can assemble the whole thing in just 20 days.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41It makes the process relatively cheap and efficient.
0:54:44 > 0:54:46And unlike the Space Shuttle,
0:54:46 > 0:54:49which needed a costly refit after every launch,
0:54:49 > 0:54:53with Soyuz, they simply throw it away after a single use
0:54:53 > 0:54:55and just build a new one.
0:54:59 > 0:55:04It's helped our generation to be the first to have people permanently living in space.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:55:17 > 0:55:19That's it, they're on the bus now,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21they're going to drive to the launch pad,
0:55:21 > 0:55:23and in just over two hours, they're off.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34Suni is about to be strapped into a tiny capsule,
0:55:34 > 0:55:39perched on top of hundreds of tonnes of supercooled high explosives.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45The vehicle is really cool. It's alive.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50It's fuelled with cryogenic fuel so it is all frosty. It's steaming.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52It sort of feels like it's ready to go -
0:55:52 > 0:55:56not only the crew, but the rocket itself is ready to rock.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02All that's left to do is to light the touchpaper.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06Nine, eight, seven, six,
0:56:06 > 0:56:11five, four, three, two,
0:56:11 > 0:56:13one.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50Oh, my God, my heart is going. That's amazing.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52You see it, and you can hear it,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55but you can just feel it. That was...
0:56:55 > 0:56:56incredible.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01RADIO: 'I've got Mission Control Moscow.'
0:57:01 > 0:57:04As promised, in just over nine minutes,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06they're in space.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09- RADIO:- 'Getting a big thumbs up. The ground team's confirmed the third stage did separate.'
0:57:09 > 0:57:13They spend the next two days slowly approaching the space station
0:57:13 > 0:57:15before the crew dock at their new home.
0:57:19 > 0:57:24They've become the latest members of mankind's most remote colony.
0:57:24 > 0:57:26'When you stop and think about it,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28'it's only been 50 years,
0:57:28 > 0:57:33'and we went from never having people leave the planet to people living in space.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35'That's pretty incredible.'
0:57:45 > 0:57:47Wowee!
0:57:49 > 0:57:52Whether we're hopping on a plane, or commuting into space,
0:57:52 > 0:57:56our ingenuity and ambition has enabled us
0:57:56 > 0:58:00to move around the planet in previously unimaginable ways.
0:58:02 > 0:58:03Right, here we go.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06By creating these new networks
0:58:06 > 0:58:08we've changed how we live on the planet for ever.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15Those vast distances that, for centuries, have separated us,
0:58:15 > 0:58:17for our generation, have all but evaporated.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20We have shrunk the world, and in the process
0:58:20 > 0:58:23turned all seven billion of us into next-door neighbours.
0:58:49 > 0:58:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd