Plot Synopsis

SPACE DISASTERS is a one-hour documentary series that pays tribute to the bold men and women who put their lives on the line in order to get a foothold in the heavens...sometimes with spectacularly disastrous results. The series also reveals how the close calls and catastrophes of the past paved the way for the breakthroughs of today. Each NASA and Soviet space mission is a high-stakes project with an ever-present risk of failure. The series opener, "First Generation," chronicles NASA's early missions and tragedies -- in the sky and on the ground -- as it pushed the limits of space exploration. The second installment, "Failure at Re-Entry," focuses on the challenges and dangers of re-entry -- from the Skylab PR disaster to space shuttle close calls and tragedies. SPACE DISASTERS had its U.S. premiere on Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel, with a new episode debuting each Sunday through November 22.
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On Sunday, November 22, 2020 at 9pm ET/PT, Smithsonian Channel premiered "Failure to Launch," the season finale of SPACE DISASTERS. The tragedies and missteps in the attempts to conquer space. First moments are the most dangerous. From America's Vanguard in 1957 to Europe's Vega in 2019, observe 60+ years of space flight failures on the launchpad.