Trajectory: Milestones in Space Exploration

Cold War rivalry and the acceleration of space exploration, preparations for Hubble's final servicing mission, launch and the difficult path to rendezvous, and monitoring orbital debris.

The start of NASA and America's first manned space program, the European Space Agency's Mars Satellite, and the gradual evolution of Russia's Soyuz launcher.

America's first manned space program finally puts a man in orbit, the array of special cameras that follow a spacecraft at launch, and the building and operation of the International Space Station.

Did Gemini give the US a lead in the space race? The last days of ESA's Venus probe, NASA's Extravehicular Mobility Unit, and ESA's worldwide network of giant dishes.

NASA refines the techniques needed for rendezvous. In the Cassini probe's final years of activity, its handlers are asking it to do more complex and risky assignments. An interlinked group of satellites and rovers are paving the way for a manned mission to Mars.

In the final phase of the Gemini program, NASA struggles with docking and spacewalks. On the surface of Mars the Curiousity rover is changing the way we think about the red planet. A constellation of satellites is trying to discover why the Earth's magnetic field is diminishing rapidly.

At the very beginning of NASA's moon project, things go wrong. ESA's special training program for astronauts. Mapping the cosmic microwave background radiation.

After the Apollo 1 disaster, NASA resumes manned space flight. Monitoring the Earth's CO2 levels in unprecedented detail. Parabolic flights and their role in weightlessness training.

The Apollo program takes bold new steps. Europe is working to perfect a re-entry vehicle. Navigation satellites go into incorrect orbit.

The Apollo program achieves its major objective. Dragon, Falcon and SpaceX - new directions in re-usable spacecraft. Mapping our galaxy in unprecedented detail.

After the first Moon landing the Apollo science program was about to start in earnest but people were losing interest. New technology is added that extends the reach of the Apollo program. The final missions to the lunar surface.

The first re-useable spacecraft. Pressing launch schedules lead to carelessness and the loss of the Challenger. A re-designed shuttle is back in space with a redefined role.

The Space Transportation System changes the nature of orbital missions. Confidence in the shuttle begins to return and engineers for get the lessons of the past. After the Columbia disaster, the space shuttle has one last project to complete.