0:00:04 > 0:00:0840 years ago, the world watched
0:00:08 > 0:00:12as humanity achieved something incredible.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17RADIO: 'Houston, Tranquillity base here. The Eagle has landed.'
0:00:17 > 0:00:20TV: 'The lunar module on the surface of the moon...'
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Putting men on the moon marked a leap in science and technology.
0:00:32 > 0:00:38It signalled a new era of exploration, when pioneers would see places few had ever imagined...
0:00:40 > 0:00:44and face life-threatening crises in the depths of outer space.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48Just a loud bang reverberating through the metal hull.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51One of them came up and said, "Houston we've got a problem."
0:00:51 > 0:00:53We were in serious trouble.
0:00:53 > 0:00:59And with newly enhanced footage, they show us vividly for the first time
0:00:59 > 0:01:01the spectacular things they saw.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23PRESIDENT KENNEDY: We choose to go to the moon,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31not because they are easy but because they are hard.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34In July 1969, the United States achieves
0:01:34 > 0:01:40the late President Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the moon.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43'That's one small step for man,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46'one giant leap for mankind.'
0:01:48 > 0:01:53The moment marks the culmination of countless breakthroughs by NASA.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59There was a great feeling of elation,
0:01:59 > 0:02:05accomplishing the goal that hundreds of thousands of people had been working toward for nearly a decade.
0:02:06 > 0:02:12500 million people around the world share a great moment as it happens live.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17TV: 'And there the lunar module on the surface of the moon...'
0:02:24 > 0:02:30But less than a year after NASA's greatest triumph they will face the worst imaginable trial.
0:02:33 > 0:02:39Apollo 13, to launch in April 1970, will add new challenges to the lunar journey.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Landing in rocky highlands, its crew will collect mountain samples
0:02:42 > 0:02:46as clues to the history of our solar system.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50Its mission insignia reads "Ex Luna, Scientia" - "From the moon, knowledge".
0:02:50 > 0:02:56We were gonna be the first mission to land in a sort of highland area
0:02:56 > 0:02:59into a region called Fra Mauro.
0:02:59 > 0:03:05Fra Mauro contains material from deep in the lunar crust, essential for aging the moon.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09The moon can tell us an awful lot about the origin of the solar system
0:03:09 > 0:03:14going back to beginning of our universe, perhaps to the Big Bang.
0:03:16 > 0:03:22Planetary science and astronomy have become NASA's main focus.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25'You're 34 minutes into the EVA and your right on the nominal timeline.'
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Having reached the moon, humanity is compelled to study it.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32The goal was just to land on the moon.
0:03:32 > 0:03:39By then, once we did that, the focus was "Now, let's learn something from all of this."
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Apollo 13 will be the crowning glory of Commander Jim Lovell's impressive career.
0:03:44 > 0:03:50NASA's most experienced astronaut, he conducted the first space rendezvous with another vehicle
0:03:50 > 0:03:53and was one of the first men to orbit the moon on Apollo 8.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00Landing, I think, was a necessary objective, that was our goal.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04That's the reason why I had got into NASA in the first place.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05His crew will be first-timers.
0:04:05 > 0:04:11Jack Swigert will pilot the command module and Fred Haise will join Lovell on the moon.
0:04:11 > 0:04:17The thought of going to the moon made me decide I would join the Astronaut Corps.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20'T minus 20 seconds, T minus 20 seconds and counting.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23'17...guidance release...15, 14,
0:04:23 > 0:04:2913, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Ignition sequence has started.
0:04:31 > 0:04:366, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero.
0:04:36 > 0:04:42We have commit and we have lift-off at 2.13.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47It has cleared the tower.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02There have been only two lunar landings to date.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05It remains a daring, difficult feat,
0:05:05 > 0:05:10and yet, in mission control, an atmosphere of the routine begins to creep in.
0:05:15 > 0:05:2155 hours into the mission, Apollo 13 has completed most of its journey to the moon.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Two days had gone by on Apollo 13.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Things were absolutely working fine, no problems at all.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34We were just about entering the lunar sphere of influence,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39where the moon with its gravity would be attracting us and actually starting to accelerate us.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Astronaut Jack Lousma handles contact with the crew.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I was capsule communicator.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53We were watching the crew as they gave us a tour
0:05:53 > 0:05:57round the lunar module just before they were going to bed.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02'This is the crew of Apollo 13, wishing everybody there a nice evening,
0:06:02 > 0:06:08and we're just about to get back for a pleasant evening in Odyssey. Good night.
0:06:08 > 0:06:15Before the crew's scheduled sleep, Capcom asks Apollo 13 to stir their oxygen tanks.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18'13, we've got one more item for you when you get a chance.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'We'd like you to stir up your cryo-tanks.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27'Jack Swigert acknowledged our request for the stir.'
0:06:27 > 0:06:30OK. Standby.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33'Swigert then threw two switches.'
0:06:36 > 0:06:39COMMUNICATION INTERFERENCE
0:06:39 > 0:06:41I remember the time very well.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44It was 55 hours 55 minutes and 4 seconds from launch.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Suddenly there was an explosion.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52A loud bang reverberating through the metal hull.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56The emergency lights come on, jets were firing, noise all over.
0:06:57 > 0:07:04We got into the command module. We saw we'd lost two fuel cells
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and that put the old lead weight down the bottom of my stomach.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- One of 'em came up and said... - 'OK, Houston, we've had a problem here.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20- I said, "Say again, please." - 'Houston, we've had a problem.'
0:07:20 > 0:07:22"Houston we've got a problem".
0:07:22 > 0:07:25And we sure did. About that time everything almost went dead.
0:07:29 > 0:07:34'We heard a pretty large bang associated with the caution and warning.'
0:07:34 > 0:07:38The real breakthrough occurred about 15 minutes later.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Cannot tell you to this day why I did it,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47but I looked out the window and I saw oxygen escaping.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51Jim Lovell called down from the spacecraft and said, "Hey Houston...
0:07:51 > 0:07:55'It looks to me, looking out the hatch, that we are venting something.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58'We are venting something out into space.'
0:08:01 > 0:08:07What the crew sees out of the window spells near-certain doom for Apollo 13.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10We had a sea of debris around us that I could see.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Little kernels, I assume it is frozen oxygen, that looked like popcorn.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17As you got further out it was just sparkly material.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Roger, we copy you're venting.
0:08:20 > 0:08:26The explosion has shattered the command module's oxygen tanks and destroyed its power cells.
0:08:26 > 0:08:32There will be no lunar landing - mere survival for the three men now poses a huge challenge.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35We were in serious trouble, very, very serious trouble.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43If you didn't have enough oxygen you weren't going to live to make it to re-entry.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47I didn't think we'd be able to get 'em back.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51The flight director is a very simple job description, it says,
0:08:51 > 0:08:58"The flight director may take any actions necessary for crew safety and mission success."
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Crew safety is first.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02'OK now, let's everybody keep cool.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06'Let's solve the problem, but let's not make it any worse by guessing.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10With the power and oxygen levels in the command module running out,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13the lunar lander is the crew's only safe haven.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19We knew that the command module was going to lose its oxygen
0:09:19 > 0:09:23and its ability to generate electricity.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28'We figure we've got about 15 minutes' worth of power left in the command module
0:09:28 > 0:09:32'so we want you to start getting over in the LEM and getting some power on that.'
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The command ship wasn't going to support the crew any more,
0:09:35 > 0:09:40they had to go and get over and get started powering up the lunar module.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44'We got the LEM still attached, the LEM space craft is good.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'OK, I'm coming back to you. Flight? Go ahead.'
0:09:47 > 0:09:52'I think the best thing we can do right now is start a power down.'
0:09:52 > 0:09:57We got the crew comfortable over there then the really hard work began,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02trying to understand what we had to do to get them back safely.
0:10:02 > 0:10:09The instinct in the control centre was turn this thing around and get it coming back home.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13I had this gut feeling that said don't go that way, that's the wrong way to go.
0:10:16 > 0:10:22Mission control decides to let the mission drift further from the earth and around the moon,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26whose gravity will hurl the spacecraft back toward home.
0:10:26 > 0:10:32'Here in mission control, we are now looking towards an alternate mission.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37'Swinging around the moon and using the lunar module power systems.'
0:10:37 > 0:10:39'That sounds like good news.
0:10:41 > 0:10:45We'd go around the moon, the moon's gravity could slow us down
0:10:45 > 0:10:48and then turn us around and aim us back towards the Earth.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52The mission is becoming world news.
0:10:52 > 0:11:00The media tries to explain Apollo 13's new trajectory, going further away just to get home.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02The lunar landing has been called off.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06About 30,000 miles out from the moon and accelerating fast in towards it,
0:11:06 > 0:11:11the crew are aiming to curve in behind the moon, and out of contact with earth,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14fire the only engine they have left, the lunar module's descent engine.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17'The situation is extremely critical...'
0:11:17 > 0:11:22As the space craft passes behind the moon, radio contact with the earth goes dead.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26The crew is alone, staring at their missed opportunity, only miles away.
0:11:28 > 0:11:35As we passed over our landing area, thinking that it sure would have been nice to get down there.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37It was fait accompli.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40We just had to carry on with the plan.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Emerging from the far side of the moon, Apollo 13 begins the long limp home.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02The drama is far from over. Minimal power and water supplies in the lunar lander
0:12:02 > 0:12:06aren't intended to support three men for the duration of the flight.
0:12:06 > 0:12:11All throughout the return home we had to monitor what we were using.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17The lunar module was designed only to support two people and, of course, we had three.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20We had about two days of supply of the ship powered up.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23We knew we had to start husbanding the resources that we had.
0:12:23 > 0:12:29Everybody was making constant calculations.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Were we going to have enough water?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Was there going to be enough electrical power?
0:12:33 > 0:12:35Was there going to be enough oxygen?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38The shocking answer is no.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43The 99-hour journey home would be longer than the men could survive.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48By the end of the shift we had come up with a game plan.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52We were going to fire the engines to accelerate us back to earth.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57- 'Ignition.'- So that we would get back as fast as we reasonably could.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59'Thrust looks good.'
0:13:06 > 0:13:09I think this burn effectively cut off 10 hours.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11'Hang on in there. It won't be long.'
0:13:11 > 0:13:15But just as the crew has escaped several deadly threats, a new one looms.
0:13:15 > 0:13:21The men's own carbon dioxide exhalation is poisoning the dwindling air they breathe.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23The crew is slowly suffocating.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27They're going to experience carbon dioxide poisoning very quickly,
0:13:27 > 0:13:32because we only had enough air scrubbers in the lunar module for two people for two days.
0:13:32 > 0:13:38If you get too much carbon dioxide, you start breathing real fast and pretty quick you die.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42There are spare carbon dioxide filters in the command module,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45but a lack of design foresight renders them useless here in the lunar module.
0:13:45 > 0:13:52The CO2 scrubber in the lunar module was a round canister.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56But we had the command module scrubbers but they were square.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00And you can't put a square scrubber into a round hole.
0:14:00 > 0:14:05So engineering comes up with the idea of fabricating an adapter.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10The troops come in to mission control, carrying boxes with stuff in it,
0:14:10 > 0:14:15"This is the carbon dioxide fix, we need to make you do it
0:14:15 > 0:14:18"and here's checklist, we want you to read that up to Jack Swigert."
0:14:18 > 0:14:25Of course, the engineering team on the ground is only allowed to use materials the crew has on board.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27So NASA figured it out using duct tape, a piece of plastic,
0:14:27 > 0:14:34cardboard, a cover from one of our manuals, and an old sock.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36He was hopeful but sceptical
0:14:36 > 0:14:39when I told him all the things he had to go and get.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43It sounded like a Fifth Grade grade school project.
0:14:43 > 0:14:48It may look like child's play but it's a lifesaver.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51And it didn't take but about two minutes
0:14:51 > 0:14:54before you could see that CO2 level start to come down.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57One small thing fixed.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04As they approach Earth, Apollo 13 faces one last life-or-death hurdle.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12They must jettison the lunar module, their lifeboat, as they re-inhabit
0:15:12 > 0:15:16the dead command module, the only vehicle designed for re-entry.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20The emotional content peaks because we start speaking to the spacecraft.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23'Farewell, Aquarius. We thank you.'
0:15:23 > 0:15:27We thank you, you were one hell of a good ship.
0:15:27 > 0:15:32The damaged command module has barely enough life-support to get the crew the last step home.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37But no-one knows if it will survive the 1,500-degree heat of re-entry.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41There was concern people had expressed with the heat shield.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Did the explosion rupture the heat shield on our command module?
0:15:45 > 0:15:50There was no choice. We had to re-enter, so we're going to find out one way or the other by entering.
0:15:52 > 0:15:58You've done the best you can for your crew and your mission, then it's time to hand over to a higher authority
0:15:58 > 0:16:01to bring this mission to its ultimate conclusion.
0:16:01 > 0:16:07As the ship smashes into Earth's atmosphere at eight times the speed of a bullet, all contact goes dead.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33We expected communication and didn't get it
0:16:33 > 0:16:38and now I was the guy calling and saying, "Apollo 13, Houston?"
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Apollo 13, Apollo 13?
0:16:42 > 0:16:45It's been two minutes now from time of drogue deployment.
0:16:51 > 0:16:56Just listening to that static, waiting for a call of, you know, "Houston this is us."
0:17:03 > 0:17:08Capcom was calling, "Do you read us?" and we were getting no response.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14Every controller is standing on their feet staring at those clocks and wondering what went wrong.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30'Odyssey Houston, we show you on the main. It really looks great.'
0:17:31 > 0:17:36'Apollo 13. Apollo 13. Recovery, over.'
0:17:40 > 0:17:43It was a wonderful sigh of relief
0:17:43 > 0:17:46to splash down in the water
0:17:46 > 0:17:53to get back into the warm Pacific Ocean again from the cold climate inside the spacecraft.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Literally every controller is standing, crying
0:18:01 > 0:18:03and you're frankly embarrassed by your loss of composure.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07It was joyous, people broke out the cigars
0:18:07 > 0:18:10that were traditional at that time.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13There was a lot of people slapping each other on the back.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19I believe that the Apollo 13 was one of NASA's finest hours.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31Despite Apollo 13's close call,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34NASA forges ahead with lunar exploration.
0:18:38 > 0:18:43Just nine months later, Apollo 14 achieves Apollo 13's intended mission.
0:18:43 > 0:18:48Three further landings explore more of the moon, with the help of a car.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Driving a rover was a lot of fun.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56We were laughing and cackling and just enjoying ourselves.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58We felt like we were flying.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03On Apollo 16, Charlie Duke and John Young cover 17 miles in the lunar rover.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Max speed for us was 11 miles an hour.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11It was a good driving machine. We drove all the way up Stone Mountain, parked it in the rim of a crater.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14There was an awesome view from up there,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16you could look out across the Caley Plains.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20From the data they bring back, planetary geologists learn that
0:19:20 > 0:19:25meteor impacts were the main factor to shape the moon's surface.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27We brought back some moon rocks.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Everybody was mighty pleased.
0:19:32 > 0:19:39In December 1972, the final lunar mission counts down.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43More than half a million people come to witness the launch of Apollo 17
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and the last flight of the mighty Saturn V.
0:19:50 > 0:19:56The first lunar era is ending as NASA sets sights on new targets.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04NASA and the Government had to make a decision,
0:20:04 > 0:20:09do we keep the Saturn V production line up or do we go back
0:20:09 > 0:20:15and build a reusable spacecraft that will reduce the cost and increase the access to orbit?
0:20:22 > 0:20:28You couldn't go on spending 300 million every time you wanted to launch into space.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32NASA went to Congress and said we need a re-usable spacecraft,
0:20:32 > 0:20:37as re-usable as we can get, and that was the space Shuttle programme.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42With the new spacecraft on the drawing board, Apollo 17 Commander Gene Cernan
0:20:42 > 0:20:45will bid the moon a final farewell.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Philosophically, there's deeper meaning to Apollo,
0:20:48 > 0:20:52a meaning I'm not sure we'll ever fully understand for another 50 or 100 years.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54The day we left this planet.
0:20:54 > 0:20:573, 2, 1...
0:20:57 > 0:20:59Ignition.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02We're on our way, Houston.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08It is a benchmark in human history.
0:21:08 > 0:21:14Only decades after the first aeroplane flew, 12 men have now walked on the moon.
0:21:14 > 0:21:21We went to the moon, we came home, closed the garage doors and started over again.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30When the garage doors are reopened, something completely different comes rolling out.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40The first time I saw the Shuttle on the back of the 747, I said to myself
0:21:40 > 0:21:44we have really screwed up, this is not going to work.
0:21:47 > 0:21:52Some people were calling it the Messiah because whenever anybody
0:21:52 > 0:21:56saw the big Shuttle, the first thing they'd say is, "Jesus Christ."
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Built to be reusable, the Shuttle will enable astronauts
0:22:05 > 0:22:09to train for the future long-term habitation of deep space.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15They wanted eventually to go build a colony on the moon.
0:22:15 > 0:22:16Before we did that, we thought we needed a space station.
0:22:16 > 0:22:22To do a space station we needed a way to get in and out of space easier and for that we needed a Shuttle.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27The Shuttle was a new generation of space systems.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34A low-cost, relatively quick, simple, safe access to orbit.
0:22:34 > 0:22:41Designed to fly with a crew of seven, for the first high-risk mission, NASA will send only two.
0:22:41 > 0:22:48In 1978, I was with the then-director of flight crew operations.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51George out of the blue says, "Crip, how would you like to go fly the first one?"
0:22:55 > 0:22:57I was ready to turn handsprings right there.
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Crippen was very smart, that's why I flew with him.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04He's a great fella. He had to put up with me on that mission.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08John Young will command the first Shuttle flight.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11John Young was the chief of the astronaut office.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17He had flown four times previously, including walking on the moon.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20He was the obvious choice to be commander of the first flight.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26But before the Shuttle can fly into outer space, there are many engineering challenges to overcome.
0:23:26 > 0:23:32The most difficult problem is how to endure the white heat of re-entry on each of countless flights.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37The solution is to apply a layer of heat-proof tiles.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43There are probably only around 20,000 to 25,000 tiles
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and they are very fragile.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Your on the glide slope, we see you on the glide slope.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Simpler on paper than in practice.
0:23:52 > 0:23:58Even at average aeroplane speeds during early test flights, hundreds of tiles fall off.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03They didn't have 'em stuck on right, Yep, that was a serious problem.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07We had to sort of shut things down till we got it fixed.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11The team develops new glue that finally passes stress tests matching re-entry.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14But now the engines aren't behaving.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Every time we would light them off in our test facilities,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26they would blow up.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34That wasn't a good thing, obviously.
0:24:38 > 0:24:44To blast the Shuttle into space, a completely new method of propulsion must be mastered.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49A massive external tank will carry 750 tonnes of liquid hydrogen fuel
0:24:49 > 0:24:56for the main engines and two special add-on booster rockets running on solid fuel will burn uncontrolled,
0:24:56 > 0:25:02like fireworks, providing 44 million horsepower of thrust.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15These solid rockets basically provide the majority of the thrust
0:25:15 > 0:25:17to get up to about two minutes in powered flight.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22But once they're lit, there's no way to turn them off.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Many fear they could spiral out of control and take the Shuttle with them.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Safety systems must be devised.
0:25:29 > 0:25:36By now, the Shuttle's been in development for so long, people begin to wonder if it will ever fly.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40Instead of Young and Crippen it was gonna be old and crippled by the time we got to fly!
0:25:40 > 0:25:42It almost was.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Four years after the first glide test
0:25:46 > 0:25:49and 20 years after the first American launched into space,
0:25:49 > 0:25:55Crippen and Young finally suit up for the Shuttle's historic launch.
0:25:55 > 0:26:00Every other NASA project had flown unmanned flights first.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02This time, that's not an option.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Astronauts must pilot the Shuttle back to Earth.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Risk is part of the business in test flying.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14How do you assess the risk factor?
0:26:14 > 0:26:18You just take the risk and do whatever it is you have to do to make it work.
0:26:26 > 0:26:32Cape Canaveral comes alive for its first countdown to launch in six years.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37If you see anything you don't understand when we're going down here, we got seven hold points.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40You remember where they are?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Seven minutes, we got one at five minutes...
0:26:43 > 0:26:48The vehicle is so complex and so many things could go wrong.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56It has 2,000 switches and circuit breakers and a 110 pages of software
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and you have to know all that stuff if you're gonna fly it.
0:27:00 > 0:27:0415, ten, lift-off pick-up in about a minute and a half here.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09DPS, we're going to flight guidance?
0:27:09 > 0:27:14It was only when the countdown got inside of a minute that I turned to John and said I think we might do it.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18That's when my heart rate went up to about 130,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21John's stayed down at a nice cool 90.
0:27:22 > 0:27:28If you're so worried you can't think about what you're procedures are, you're dead anyway.
0:27:37 > 0:27:42T minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...
0:27:42 > 0:27:44We've gone for main engines start.
0:27:51 > 0:27:57By the time you clear above the tower, you're going already over 100 miles an hour.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02Columbia, Houston we have 40 seconds to LOS.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04We'll see you at Madrid.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09It had ejection seats, but I wouldn't
0:28:09 > 0:28:13say they would have been a lot of fun.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16What you'd have done is bail out into the 5,000 degree Fahrenheit
0:28:16 > 0:28:20rocket plumes and made you a crispy critter.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27The sound went away.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30And I really thought that the engines had quit.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32But checking the instruments, the engines were running.
0:28:36 > 0:28:41After 8½ minutes you're in orbit, in zero g. It's quite a ride.
0:28:41 > 0:28:48Things about you start to float, the checklist floats up, maybe a loose washer floating around
0:28:48 > 0:28:51so you see all of that, so you know you're weightless.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56The Shuttle's got some great windows.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00The colours of the oceans, it's gorgeous.
0:29:00 > 0:29:05Vice-President George Bush comes on line to congratulate the first Shuttle astronauts.
0:29:07 > 0:29:14- If you would, please, Mr Vice-President. - BUSH: How's Crip's heartbeat doing?
0:29:14 > 0:29:18- Brought down to about nothing, I think.- Oh, really?
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Crippen and Young orbit the Earth 36 times in two days,
0:29:24 > 0:29:28and then face the most dangerous stage in the Shuttle's maiden flight.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35Re-entry will mark the first true test of the thousands of thermal tiles protecting them.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40It's on the dark side of the earth, so it's essentially black outside.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Hitting the atmosphere at 14,000mph,
0:29:43 > 0:29:48they generate temperatures of 1,600 Celsius.
0:29:48 > 0:29:49You get this pink glow outside.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53It's not a fiery thing but you can tell it's pretty hot out there.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04The maiden Shuttle has made it through re-entry in one piece.
0:30:08 > 0:30:13Synch rate still losing altitude at a rate of 200 feet per second.
0:30:13 > 0:30:19As you're coming down, you can really see that your moving over the terrain fairly rapidly.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Lots of fun.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Like Crippen said, what a way to come to California.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28That's what he told me whenever we were flying across the coast.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32And you can see where you turn in to runway 23.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36John greased it on the lake bed out there like he always does.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44Flight control, report steady braking.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49I've never seen John that excited before or since.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51I said, "let's finish this check list and get out of here."
0:30:51 > 0:30:55You feel like you've done a good job and it worked.
0:30:55 > 0:31:01Crippen and Young are the first astronauts to return from space in a reusable vehicle,
0:31:01 > 0:31:05marking the dawn of a new era in human exploration.
0:31:06 > 0:31:14The ease with which the Shuttle can move in and out of Earth orbit revolutionises space travel.
0:31:20 > 0:31:25The capability that the vehicle brought into orbit and all the things that we're able to try,
0:31:25 > 0:31:31lots of types of missions, ranging from science missions, to repair missions, to satellite launches,
0:31:31 > 0:31:35and we got a chance to give all those different things a shot.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42But to perform such tasks on Shuttle missions,
0:31:42 > 0:31:46astronauts will need maximum mobility in the form of a Buck Rogers jetpack.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51The Man Manoeuvring Unit was a backpack, something that
0:31:51 > 0:31:56an astronaut in a spacesuit would wear on his back.
0:31:56 > 0:31:58Bruce McCandless is a NASA veteran.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03He was a flight controller for the moon landings, but has never been to space.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06I was offered the opportunity and accepted
0:32:06 > 0:32:08to be the first to fly the MMU from the Shuttle.
0:32:10 > 0:32:16On 7th February 1984, McCandless finally gets his chance.
0:32:16 > 0:32:21He dons the pack and ventures solo into the vacuum of space.
0:32:21 > 0:32:26They explained that they wanted to make sure I didn't get into any trouble.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31They didn't want to be known as the commander who launched with five and came back with four.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36For the first time, an astronaut becomes a lone human satellite.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42With nothing tethering him to the Shuttle, his only lifeline is the jetpack he helped design.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Once you get going, all it takes is finger movements.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54McCandless is floating over 90 metres out.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58A lone man drifting in the infinite ocean of space.
0:33:01 > 0:33:06May well have been one small step for Neil, but it's a heck of a big leap for me.
0:33:06 > 0:33:12A nice chuckle all around and served to relax people and proceeded on.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17These pictures have shown up for years.
0:33:17 > 0:33:22It was an amazing sight, an astronaut flying out in space with a space suit on.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25He's kind of tilted half way.
0:33:27 > 0:33:35You may get the name of World's Fastest Human Being going along there are 4 miles a second, Bruce!
0:33:35 > 0:33:39The fastest man returns to the safety of the Shuttle and sets sail for home.
0:33:39 > 0:33:45The stunning pictures capture the public's imagination, as well as the headlines.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50We were getting to fly on a fairly frequent basis, doing some very productive work.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53It was a grand time.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56The Shuttle is making the risky business of space flight look easy.
0:33:56 > 0:34:01Shuttle missions are seen as commonplace and unremarkable.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05As they continued to fly,
0:34:05 > 0:34:09it got more routine, people got more confident.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12People were looking at the Shuttle as if it was an airliner,
0:34:12 > 0:34:14and it never was.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21It takes a lot of tender loving care and if you don't give it that TLC it can bite you in the behind.
0:34:21 > 0:34:27They were pushing, they were trying to get to at least two launches off a month.
0:34:27 > 0:34:32And after more than 20 missions, the Shuttle is no longer front-page news.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37In an attempt to regain relevance,
0:34:37 > 0:34:42NASA decides to put a schoolteacher on the Shuttle to beam lessons down from space.
0:34:45 > 0:34:4810,000 teachers apply.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53Christa McAuliffe was just delightful. She was just the best that we had.
0:34:53 > 0:35:00- She was perfect.- 38-year old social studies teacher and mother-of-two from New Hampshire,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03Christa will join six other astronauts on the Shuttle Challenger.
0:35:05 > 0:35:11Among them is Ron McNair, flying his second mission after crewing with Bruce McCandless
0:35:11 > 0:35:14on the pioneering, backpack-flying STS-41 flight.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17Shuttle astronauts are like a sponge.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21They absorb things and Ron was one of the real sponges.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24He was absorbing everything he needed to fly.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30We look forward to returning, launching from the Cape firstly,
0:35:30 > 0:35:32and returning here a few days later.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34I had have the privilege of being...
0:35:34 > 0:35:36He was excited.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Ron loved everything. He loved physics - what made anything go.
0:35:40 > 0:35:45Space was another frontier to explore.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50At this time I'd like to introduce you to Christa McAuliffe, our payload specialist teacher in space.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54Well, I'm so excited to be here.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57I don't think any teacher has ever been more ready
0:35:57 > 0:36:00to have two lessons in my life.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02We have a go for main engine start.
0:36:02 > 0:36:07Three months before her flight, Christa watches her first Shuttle launch.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:36:16 > 0:36:22I compare the Teacher In Space programme to the decision to cross the Mississippi River.
0:36:24 > 0:36:29If space was to expand and progress, we needed common, ordinary people
0:36:29 > 0:36:34to cross that river and continue the process of exploration.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38People capable of providing the passion needed
0:36:38 > 0:36:43to inspire another generation of explorers to go out.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Weather concerns delay four launches before Challenger
0:36:51 > 0:36:55is finally scheduled for 28th January 1986.
0:36:55 > 0:37:01As that date approaches, temperatures drop below freezing.
0:37:01 > 0:37:06No-one had seen it that cold here at the Cape before.
0:37:07 > 0:37:13Throughout the morning, engineers raise questions about the unusually low temperatures.
0:37:13 > 0:37:17I was absolutely appalled at the sight that I saw.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22The Shuttle had been suspended in ice in a prehistoric fashion.
0:37:24 > 0:37:29I heard the discussions associated with the launch directors,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33but I never heard anything that indicated there was concern.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37I had confidence in their ability to make the reports and assess the proper areas.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40T minus 7 minutes and counting.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50Just before noon, Challenger is cleared for launch.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53Ground one sequencer program has been initiated.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59Thousands of school children around the country tune in to watch.
0:37:59 > 0:38:04And in mission control, Houston, Flight Director Jay Greene awaits the handover.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09The shifts before had worked the issues.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11We were clear for flight.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14T-minus one minute and counting.
0:38:14 > 0:38:20Christa's parents are at the Cape for the launch, as is Ron McNair's wife, Cheryl.
0:38:20 > 0:38:25We were excited and we were on top of the roof and my children were with me
0:38:25 > 0:38:32and as well as my father and we were all concentrating on what was to be and the excitement of it.
0:38:32 > 0:38:34It was an exciting day.
0:38:34 > 0:38:39T minus ten, nine, eight, seven, six...
0:38:39 > 0:38:42We have main engines start.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46Four, three, two, one and lift-off.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49Countdown was nominal.
0:38:49 > 0:38:55We lifted off, throttle down went well, engines came up back to normal.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57CHEERING
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Challenger go with throttle up.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26SCREAMING
0:39:32 > 0:39:34SCREAMING
0:39:41 > 0:39:44Go ahead. Vehicle exploded.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54- Can we get any reports from recovery forces?- Obviously a malfunction.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57I saw basically a flash of white light.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01We've had negative contact, we've lost the family.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03OK, all operators watch your data carefully.
0:40:03 > 0:40:10And then I looked over and saw the display over there and it showed this expanding cloud,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13and many fingers going off in different directions.
0:40:15 > 0:40:21The now-detached rocket boosters spiral wildly through the sky at immense speed.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Specially declassified footage shows them being remotely destroyed.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37We have a report from the flight dynamics officer that the vehicle has exploded.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Flight director confirms that.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46We are looking at checking with the recovery forces to see what can be done at this point.
0:40:46 > 0:40:53We started tracking or trying to track, expecting that out of the plume,
0:40:53 > 0:40:57the orbitor would come flying out.
0:40:57 > 0:41:04I've seen Ron survive so many different things and I just thought whatever it is, he'll find a way.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07There'll be escape routes or something.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11There was nothing to track. We knew it was hopeless.
0:41:11 > 0:41:17Eventually, it was inevitable that they were lost.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Challenger explodes at 49,000 feet.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23The crew cabin remains intact and tumbles,
0:41:23 > 0:41:27hitting the ocean two minutes later and at 200 miles per hour.
0:41:28 > 0:41:35Though they most likely survive the explosion, the crew are unconscious by the time they hit the water.
0:41:35 > 0:41:42We just had to find a way to get the courage to continue through this very difficult time.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44Don't reconfigure your console.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Take hard copies of all your displays.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Make sure you protect any data source you have.
0:41:51 > 0:41:55That was the first time we'd ever lost anybody in flight.
0:41:55 > 0:42:02We always had this feeling that regardless of what happened, we'd get the crew back
0:42:02 > 0:42:07and, unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15I was Vice-President of the United States way back then.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18I went down there when Challenger blew up.
0:42:18 > 0:42:23Reagan asked me to go down to comfort the families.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25It was a very moving thing for me,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29to see these families in grief.
0:42:29 > 0:42:35I think the thing that really moved me was President Reagan's comments after that.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them,
0:42:39 > 0:42:44this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47and slipped the surly bonds of Earth
0:42:47 > 0:42:50to touch the face of God.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53- Thank you.- It was so beautiful.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57I could never have done that. I would have choked up too badly.
0:42:57 > 0:43:01The Shuttle program is shut down for a complete investigation.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Many of the controllers decided this wasn't the kind of business they wanted to remain in.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09They never wanted to accept the responsibility
0:43:09 > 0:43:13for the life or death of the crew they would fly.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Morale was pretty low,
0:43:16 > 0:43:21very low in fact, but we were determined to find out what caused the accident
0:43:21 > 0:43:24and to correct it, and get back flying again.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29Still waiting word from any recovery forces in the down range field.
0:43:29 > 0:43:32The report is scathing, concluding that cold weather
0:43:32 > 0:43:37caused the failure of an O-ring, a rubber gasket in the right rocket booster.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41It leaked flames that ignited the external fuel tank.
0:43:42 > 0:43:47It was a stupid thing, a rushed job, stupid thing where we got complacent.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54The inevitable question - should we continue flying, is it too dangerous?
0:43:57 > 0:44:01There was a lot of second guessing in the Congress about the whole program
0:44:01 > 0:44:09and whether we were taking proper care of these people going into space and whether the program was worth it.
0:44:09 > 0:44:15But NASA determined to go forward with the support of the Congress and of the American people and so it did.
0:44:15 > 0:44:20No Shuttle flies for 2½ years while NASA redesigns,
0:44:20 > 0:44:25rebuilds and grows confidence about returning to space.
0:44:25 > 0:44:32When I look back over my career, that phase was one of the toughest things I've participated in.
0:44:32 > 0:44:38Because we had more people telling us why we couldn't go fly than we had telling us how we're going to go.
0:44:44 > 0:44:50September 1988, Bob Crippen deems that the Shuttle is fit for flight again,
0:44:50 > 0:44:54and when the newly revamped spaceship reaches for the skies,
0:44:54 > 0:44:58a whole new era of ground-breaking achievements begins.
0:45:00 > 0:45:05Shuttle flight STS-31 launches the Hubble Space Telescope.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08Discovery, go for Hubble release.
0:45:08 > 0:45:14Which later goes on to unveil the universe in awe-inspiring detail.
0:45:14 > 0:45:19Hubble measures the age of the universe to around 13.7 billion years
0:45:19 > 0:45:22and confirms the existence of black holes.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25We're revolutionised our knowledge of astronomy.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Now that alone could justify the Space Shuttle.
0:45:30 > 0:45:36We've managed to build an international space station that is an engineering marvel.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40Over 30 Shuttle flights carry the building blocks
0:45:40 > 0:45:44of the epic International Space Station into orbit.
0:45:44 > 0:45:50At £108 billion, it is by far the most expensive object ever built
0:45:50 > 0:45:53and spans 60 metres.
0:45:53 > 0:45:59It's big enough that you can find a quiet place to be alone if you need to be.
0:45:59 > 0:46:04We're learning how to work on a big project internationally, in space,
0:46:04 > 0:46:09and the goal from the beginning is some day to work together as a team to go to other planets.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17And despite being bound to Earth orbit,
0:46:17 > 0:46:21the Shuttle continues to expand space flight knowledge for destinations further afield.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27From flying the vehicle in and out of the atmosphere, each time we do that,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30we're laying the bricks for future trips away from our planet.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36In January 2003, Shuttle Columbia is scheduled to fly
0:46:36 > 0:46:41a two-week mission dedicated to zero gravity experiments.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44It was a science and research mission,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47there were a lot of very wide-ranging experiments on it.
0:46:47 > 0:46:50Laurel Clark, mission specialist,
0:46:50 > 0:46:52on her first flight.
0:46:52 > 0:46:58I worked a lot of different Shuttle missions but it was a personal launch because my wife was on it.
0:46:58 > 0:47:03A few days before launch, Laurel Clark films a tour around the Shuttle for her son, Ian.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Hi, Ian Blair. I love you. I'll see you soon. It won't be that long.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09She was excited it was a science mission
0:47:09 > 0:47:13and she was going to get to practice a lot of the things
0:47:13 > 0:47:16that she'd spent a lifetime learning about.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18It goes streaming past the pilot.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22Columbia's commander is Rick Husband.
0:47:22 > 0:47:24I talked to him on the phone the morning of the mission
0:47:24 > 0:47:26and he was very excited.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29The weather was absolutely beautiful and perfect.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33Commander Rick Husband and mission specialist Laurel Clark.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35And you can see...
0:47:35 > 0:47:38Husband climbing in...
0:47:38 > 0:47:42somewhat difficult, cramped quarters there.
0:47:42 > 0:47:46Ten, nine, eight, seven. We have a go.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Main engines start.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Three, two, one,
0:47:52 > 0:47:56we have booster ignition and lift-off of Space Shuttle Columbia
0:47:56 > 0:48:00with a multitude of national and international space researchers.
0:48:01 > 0:48:06Houston now controlling the flight with Columbia. The international research mission finally underway.
0:48:06 > 0:48:10There's such a mixture of feelings of pride and anxiousness.
0:48:10 > 0:48:16I was very keenly aware of the exact moment when Challenger broke apart.
0:48:17 > 0:48:21Columbia, Houston you are go at throttle up.
0:48:21 > 0:48:24We copy, go at throttle up.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28The throttle up call acknowledged by Commander Rick Husband.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30Columbia's launch appears to be perfect.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38The cargo bay has been turned into a laboratory,
0:48:38 > 0:48:43allowing mission number STS-107 to conduct dozens of experiments.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53This mission had multiple different types of science -
0:48:53 > 0:48:58earth science, space science, physical science and life science.
0:49:00 > 0:49:07Because of her medical background, her big projects were the ones growing cancer cells in space.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11It's been almost 10 days since the STS-107 launch from Kennedy Space Centre.
0:49:11 > 0:49:16I'm in a unique position because I work both as a flight surgeon and as a spouse.
0:49:16 > 0:49:23It's kind of an eerie story, because a it was like two in the morning a week before they landed...
0:49:23 > 0:49:28and I remember going through the logbooks and seeing all these concerns about a foam strike.
0:49:30 > 0:49:37High-speed cameras show insulation foam breaking off and striking the Shuttle, generating a plume.
0:49:38 > 0:49:45I had to decide whether I was going to talk to Laurel about it on our video conference.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48You know, I made a decision that I was there and I found this out,
0:49:48 > 0:49:54not as a family member, but as a flight controller and so I didn't talk to her about it.
0:49:54 > 0:50:00NASA misjudges the severity of the damage and rejects calls for closer inspection.
0:50:00 > 0:50:06Some engineer said, "It's like a piece of Styrofoam hitting your car, it didn't do any damage."
0:50:06 > 0:50:08No, it only knocked a hole that big in the wing.
0:50:08 > 0:50:14In fact, Columbia is now orbiting the Earth with a bowling ball size gash in its heat shield,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17leaving it defenceless against the brutal force of re-entry.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21I carry some of the burden and some of the guilt,
0:50:21 > 0:50:25like a lot of the people that worked in mission control, that they didn't do enough.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30The crew is told the foam strike is not a cause for concern.
0:50:30 > 0:50:35And after 16 days in space, it's time to head back to earth.
0:50:40 > 0:50:46The mission had been incredibly successful, everything that they had wanted to accomplish, they did.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51When we went out to the landing site to wait for Columbia,
0:50:51 > 0:50:56everybody was very excited and no concern whatsoever.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00The crew readies themselves and their vehicle for re-entry.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04Hey, Rick, thanks for that tag up and we concur with all.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Columbia, Houston good burn, no trim required.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19We started 17,000 miles an hour, er, couple hundred mile above the earth.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21VOICES OVER RADIO
0:51:22 > 0:51:27You'll notice kind of a yellowish, er, orange glow around the perimeter of the window,
0:51:27 > 0:51:31and it even gets a little bit of a lime green sometime.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36It'll look like a thunderstorm, but it's very calm and very quiet.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39I don't have my gloves on yet.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41Yep. Yep. Yep.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47As the jets fire to steer the Shuttle...
0:51:49 > 0:51:52..they will reflect in the plasma that has developed.
0:51:52 > 0:51:57That plasma will leave a streak in the sky as we come home.
0:51:57 > 0:52:04This is amazing, it's bright out there, you definitely don't want to be outside there.
0:52:05 > 0:52:10Columbia is right on track toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center at 8.16am Central.
0:52:10 > 0:52:17- Jon Clark and Evelyn Husband are together with the families waiting at the Cape.- We were all there.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21It was actually just a real calm, peaceful period of time.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27VOICES OVER RADIO
0:52:33 > 0:52:35We're ready for ops 304.
0:52:35 > 0:52:41Re-entry appears routine until about 17 minutes before landing.
0:52:45 > 0:52:50- E Com. - FYI, I've just lost four separate temperature trans boosters
0:52:50 > 0:52:55on the left side of the vehicle, hydraulic return temperatures.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59And I said, "Woah, that's not normal."
0:52:59 > 0:53:06And Columbia Houston, we see your tire pressure messages and we did not comp for that.
0:53:08 > 0:53:13You don't expect to hear a communication about alarms during landings,
0:53:13 > 0:53:15especially something like a tyre alarm.
0:53:22 > 0:53:26Columbia Houston UHF com check.
0:53:28 > 0:53:34And the...the Cap com trying to call the Shuttle and all you heard was, "Com check."
0:53:34 > 0:53:3712½ minutes to touchdown according to clocks in mission control.
0:53:37 > 0:53:43And the most sickening thing was at the moment when that clock went to zero
0:53:43 > 0:53:47and I was aware that they weren't going to land.
0:53:48 > 0:53:54And I just got an absolute clenching, horrible feeling in my gut.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58When are you expecting tracking?
0:53:58 > 0:54:04One minute ago, flight. We do not have any valid data at this time.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10OK.
0:54:16 > 0:54:21I turn on the TV and I see the videos from Dallas that show the Shuttle breaking up.
0:54:24 > 0:54:29Multiple, bright, bursting flares.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33That was the realisation for me that it was not survivable.
0:54:33 > 0:54:35We'd lost the crew.
0:54:37 > 0:54:44The kids were, like, from a quiet crying to like, I mean, blood-curdling screams.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51I'll remember that for the rest of my life.
0:54:54 > 0:54:58- TC flight, lock the doors...- Copy.
0:54:58 > 0:55:03No phone calls off site, outside of this room.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07Our discussions are on these loops, on the recorded DVS loops only.
0:55:13 > 0:55:19Wreckage is found stretched several hundred miles through Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24NASA's investigation concludes the puncture in the heat shield
0:55:24 > 0:55:28allowed hot gases to enter the spacecraft and break it apart.
0:55:31 > 0:55:36Blunt trauma and sudden loss of oxygen killed all Columbia's crew.
0:55:36 > 0:55:42They stayed up there for 16 days with that big hole in the wing and never knew it was there.
0:55:42 > 0:55:48If they'd only looked, they could have saved these guys lives, but they didn't look.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52For the second time in its history, the Shuttle fleet is grounded for 2½ years.
0:55:52 > 0:55:57Both Challenger and Columbia underscored the Shuttle is never going to be routine,
0:55:57 > 0:56:01going into space is never going to be routine. It's a dangerous business.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10When we have tragedies,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13we have to absorb the lessons of those failures,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17we have to correct the mistakes that were made, and we have to move on.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Because the only other alternative is to say we will stop flying,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24we will retreat, and I think that's the worst possible choice.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34When the Shuttle returns to space, Eileen Collins is the commander for its 114th flight.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40This is Shuttle launch control where we see the STS-114 astronauts.
0:56:40 > 0:56:45People were saying we shouldn't send astronauts into space, it's too dangerous.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49We are willing to accept a certain amount of risk
0:56:49 > 0:56:53to take part in this extremely important mission that we have,
0:56:53 > 0:56:54which is exploring space.
0:56:54 > 0:57:00On behalf of the millions of people who believe so deeply in what we do, good luck, Godspeed, and have fun.
0:57:02 > 0:57:06We fly for our country. We fly for humanity.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11And we don't stop flying because we have accidents.
0:57:18 > 0:57:23This launch marks the start of the Shuttle's final chapter.
0:57:23 > 0:57:29Lift-off on space Shuttle Discovery, beginning America's new journey to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
0:57:29 > 0:57:35NASA's workhorse is set to retire in 2010, but it marks only the beginning of the space age.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42Half a century after space travel began, we are reaping great rewards from exploration.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47Science has made a giant leap forward and we've learned that there are no limits.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49But there is a cost.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53Risk is the price of progress.
0:57:53 > 0:57:59You have to find the people capable of managing that risk and continue to move forward.
0:57:59 > 0:58:06Through both glorious triumphs and heartbreaking tragedies, NASA's drive to explore is empowered.
0:58:06 > 0:58:10Explorers are an inspiration to the young people
0:58:10 > 0:58:14to attain greater significant challenges in their lives.
0:58:14 > 0:58:20You can actually accomplish something that has been thought about for hundreds of year
0:58:20 > 0:58:24by all sorts of poets and astronomers.
0:58:24 > 0:58:28The human spirit is to go explore, and to see what's out there.
0:58:58 > 0:59:00Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd