SPACE STATION: The Journey Begins
SPACE STATION: The Journey Begins
The SPACE STATION series is undertaking the critical mission of documenting the unparalleled international collaboration behind the Space Station's launching and construction. It offers a unique look at the people who are making this project possible, the problems they encounter and the solutions they develop.
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The first of a two-part series, this program sets out to answer the questions of how you build a space station and why? The biggest challenge of the project is that the hundreds of components developed around the world, which will make up the finished Space Station, cannot be tested together before they are assembled in space - a task never done before.
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The story of the design and construction of this unrivalled project begins with the problems and advantages resulting from NASA's decision to collaborate with the Russians as a way to control costs. The program also explores the project's early growing pains as the Americans and Russians learn how to put old rivalries aside and share with each other their years of experience.
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You'll travel to Canada, Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as locations throughout the United States, with the global team of engineers and astronauts struggling to get the first elements ready for launch. The episode concludes as Russia's Zarya module, the seed from which the International Space Station will grow, is successfully launched into orbit.
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International partners ranging from Russia to Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency have lent unprecedented access and insight into the project. NASA and the main Russian space manufacturers Khrunichev and Energia have opened up their manufacturing and design sites, integration procedures and pre-launch activities to SPACE STATION filmmakers. Meanwhile, the Boeing Company, which is handled the design and construction of the Station on behalf of NASA has allowed the production crew full access to its Space Station activities. In filming the series, the crew visited multiple locations throughout the U.S. as well as sites in Russia, Italy and Canada.