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PODCAST

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

BBC World Service

Epic space stories. From the first Moon landing, to Apollo 13, to the Space Shuttle. Told by the people who made them happen.NEW: Season 3: The Space Shuttle. A sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever. From the boldest test flight in history to one of Nasa’s darkest days – the Challenger disaster. Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock tells the awe-inspiring story of the programme that brought triumph and tragedy. Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects. Season 2: Apollo 13

history documentary

All Episodes

28:37

What to listen to next: History’s Toughest Heroes

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/10/22

13 Minutes will return with a new season in 2026 but in the meantime, we recommend History’s Toughest Heroes. The actor Ray Winstone tells stories of adventurers, rebels and survivors who lived life on the edge. These are tales of fearsome heroes from across history including arctic explorers, medieval knights and Hollywood stuntwomen. This episode is about an arctic explorer, trapped in a snow drift the size of a coffin. How will he survive frostbite and make it out alive? Please note, this episode

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32:58

The Space Shuttle: 10. Return to flight

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/09/15

The space shuttle is back. Discovery stands waiting on launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. It has taken more than two years to get here. Nasa has listened and changed. After all these months of work, this should be one of the safest missions ever flown. But as Discovery finally rises skyward, the Challenger disaster is on everyone’s mind. There are unspoken questions about the very future of spaceflight. Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

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38:29

The Space Shuttle: 9. What is it all for?

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/09/08

Is human spaceflight worth the risk? It’s a time of soul searching for the whole shuttle crew. The space shuttle programme is put on hold for two years, as Nasa and the team come to terms with what happened. Some leave but others stay on board to help. The shuttle team work to rebuild Nasa and the programme. But some ask the question: what is it all for? Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle is a BBC Audio Science Unit production for the BBC

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51:12

The Space Shuttle: 8. A major malfunction

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/09/01

The Challenger tragedy shocks a nation, as millions watch on TV screens across the USA. Something has gone catastrophically wrong with the launch of space shuttle mission STS-51L. As they watch a fireball engulf the spacecraft, nobody in mission control has any idea what went wrong. Could it have been prevented? We turn back the clock to a meeting the day before the launch which might have changed everything.This episode contains scenes some listeners may find upsetting.Some scenes in this series

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43:28

The Space Shuttle: 7. Teacher in space

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/08/25

Nasa needs to kick-start new interest in the space shuttle. After multiple missions, public attention is waning and funding could suffer. Nasa want to do something about it. And come up with an innovative plan.How about recruiting an astronaut from the classroom? The first teacher on a space mission. Nasa runs a competition, and the winner is Christa McAuliffe, a 36-year-old social studies teacher from New Hampshire. But has she got what it takes for the challenges of space?This episode contains

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45:11

The Space Shuttle: 6. Satellite for sale

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/08/18

Can the crew rescue the million-dollar space satellite lost in orbit? Two car-sized satellites, worth $75 million each, are stranded in space. Five astronauts have been selected to bring them back. It’s something that has never been attempted before.In outer space, even the simplest of tasks can be a challenge, let alone trying to snatch a satellite from orbit. And right when the crew think they’ve got it all under control, they discover a problem they’re not prepared for. It’s time to improvise.

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43:52

The Space Shuttle: 5. Space truck

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/08/11

President Ronald Reagan declares the space shuttle open for business. It’s Independence Day 1982. And we’re in the sweltering Mojave desert of California. Carrying commercial satellites into orbit is one of the shuttle’s jobs. But things start to go wrong for the astronauts when a $75-million satellite is lost in space. And that’s just the start of a series of unfortunate events. Can they fix it and prove the space shuttle’s worth?Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.13 Minutes

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43:09

The Space Shuttle: 4. The 35 new guys

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/08/04

Nasa recruits women and ethnic minorities for the first time to its astronaut class. In the beginning of American spaceflight, all astronauts selected for the programme came from the same background. They were all male, all white – all test pilots. But now, with a revolutionary new spacecraft, and changing views in society, Nasa needs to change. They’re not just looking for people to pilot the shuttle, but engineers, scientists, and medical doctors. Can Nasa change its culture? This episode contains

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45:55

The Space Shuttle: 3. Glass rocket

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/07/28

Columbia reaches orbit. But astronaut Bob Crippen discovers that the shuttle has been damaged – can he and John Young make it home safely? Parts of the heatshield to protect the shuttle from searing temperatures on re-entry to Earth have fallen off during the journey into space. This new heatshield has never been tested before in orbit. Could more tiles be missing?Some scenes in this series use recreated sound effects.13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle is a BBC Audio Science Unit production for

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43:15

The Space Shuttle: 2. The greatest test flight

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/07/21

The astronauts count down to flying a brand-new spacecraft for the very first time. If they pull it off, they will earn a place in space history.The rocket is built. The astronauts are trained. Mission control is ready. Space Shuttle Columbia is about to attempt the unheard of. A crewed test flight. It's 12 April 1981. The morning of launch for the very first space shuttle mission. The shuttle is sitting on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. And strapped into their seats on the flight

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43:55

The Space Shuttle: 1. The spaceplane

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/07/14

Can Nasa build the most complex flying machine in space history? The plan is to create a permanent human presence in space. It’s Spring 1969 - two months before the launch of Apollo 11 – the first US mission to land humans on the moon. But meanwhile, hidden away from public view, Nasa is thinking the unthinkable. Maverick engineer Dr Max Faget is already a legend within Nasa. He’s fascinated by what could be next for human spaceflight. In a backroom, of Building 36 at Johnson Space Center, he

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3:29

Introducing: The Space Shuttle

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2025/06/25

To launch like a rocket and land like a plane. The space shuttle: A sci-fi dream that became reality and changed spaceflight forever. Told by the Nasa astronauts, engineers, scientists and support staff who made it happen. Our multi award-winning podcast returns on 14 July 2025 with: 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle. Presented by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. She tells the story of triumph and tragedy, and the human story behind the technology and scientific endeavour. A BBC Audio

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25:09

Bonus: The Global Story

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2024/02/29

Why everyone wants to get back to the moon - a special episode with Kevin Fong. The United States has just returned to the Moon for the first time in 50 years. But they are not the only country in the world with their sights set on space exploration. Why are countries like India, China, Japan and Saudi Arabia trying to complete their own lunar landings? Katya Adler speaks with Kevin Fong and Jonathan Amos the BBC’s science correspondent.

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44:49

S2 Ep.03 Lifeboat

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2020/03/23

The astronauts are fighting for their lives. As the oxygen level plummets, they must escape to the lunar lander. It's a desperate act of survival for which the crew has never trained. #13MinutestotheMoon See our film about the Lovell family: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring: Glynn Lunney Ken Mattingly (courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project) Merlin Merritt Jim Lovell John Aaron Fred Haise John Devaney Jerry Bostick Poppy

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45:45

S2 Ep.02 Death of the Odyssey

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2020/03/16

“We were in deep, deep trouble.” This is Mission Control like you’ve never heard it before. After the explosion, denial and disbelief turn to dread. #13MinutestotheMoon Watch our videos: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong. Archive: Nasa Starring: Jim Lovell Jack Lousma Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Sy Liebergot Bob Heselmeyer, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Fred Haise John Aaron Marilyn Lovell Written by

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43:33

S2 Ep.01 Time bomb: Apollo 13

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle ·

2020/03/09

“Houston, we’ve had a problem.” To ignite catastrophe would take just the flick of a single switch. Why NASA’s third bid to land on the Moon was flawed from the start.#13MinutestotheMoon For videos and more space stories: www.bbcworldservice.com/13minutes Presented by Kevin Fong Archive: NASA and CBS Starring: Jim Lovell Marilyn Lovell Fred Haise John Aaron Gerry Griffin Gene Kranz, courtesy of the Johnson Space Center Oral History Project Charlie Duke Jay Lovell Sy Liebergot Jack Lousma Written

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