The Age of Aerospace

Sixty years after the launch of Sputnik satellites become the invisible infrastructure that power the world; it wasn't until the 1991 Gulf War that the public came to recognize the transformative power of GPS and communications satellites.

James McDonnell and his St. Louis-based McDonnell Aircraft transform naval aviation following WWII, bringing the first jet-powered fighter to American carrier decks; McDonnell Banshees, Voodoos and Phantoms become iconic defenders of the free world.

Frank Piasecki was a pioneer of rotorcraft and his groundbreaking tandem rotor design brought the helicopter into the modern age; the iconic Chinook helicopter and it's many uses from combat to humanitarian aid is his legacy.

The premiere episode reveals how Bill Boeing, Donald Douglas, James McDonnell and their contemporaries took the invention of the airplane and forged an industry, delivering advancements in communication, transportation, and warfare.

Miracle Planesdetails the role American industry and planes, including the B-29 Superfortress, North American P-51 Mustang and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, played in the Allied victory over Germany and Japan.

Shrinking the Earthexplores three planes that launched the jet age: the B-47 bomber, the Boeing 707 and the 747 Jumbo Jet, the world's first jumbo jet that reshaped global air travel. These three planes were made possible by secrets discovered in a German Forest at the close of WWII.

In the Vastness of Spacetells the story of Project Apollo, which accomplished landing the first humans on the Moon, and humankind's first journey to the Moon on Apollo 8. Other topics include humanity's future in space.

Dreamliner reveals the technology, resources, and risk required to build commercial aircraft in the modern world through the story of the most recent revolution in jet design, the 787 Dreamliner.