Apollo's Moon Shot Episode Rating Graph

After the near-disaster of Apollo 13, NASA faces increased political and public pressure to prove moon landings are still worth the cost and the risk. Despite a series of missions that push science and engineering to the limit, the program is ultimately grounded, not by dangers or disasters, but by budget cuts. Experience Apollo's last, glorious chapter, presented through interviews with the astronauts who took part in the final adventures an

The conflict in Vietnam, racial tensions, and a pair of shocking assassinations in 1968 threaten to fray the social fabric of America beyond repair. NASA tries to stay on track and meet the deadline JFK set to send a man to the moon and back. Through rare archival interviews, images that still resonate with wonder, and objects from the Smithsonian Institution, see how Apollo missions 7, 8, and 9 set the stage for humankind's greatest voyage.

Americans are shocked when the Space Race begins with the launch of Russia's Sputnik; NASA launches its first astronauts, and President John F. Kennedy raises the stakes, promising to put Americans on the Moon.

In the mid-1960s, the dream of reaching the moon is closer than ever to becoming a reality. After years on the learning curve with Projects Mercury and Gemini, the world watches as the Apollo program nears its first launch. But in January 1967, America stumbles tragically when Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee die in a flash fire during a routine ground test. The future of the space program is in jeopardy until the Saturn V lifts the hopes of NASA and the nation into the stratosphere.