Liftoff Videos
Every mission, with the videos that tell it
Every mission we cover, by year.
Mission: 1986Published: 28 Jan 2026
NBC4's archived live coverage of the Jan.
Mission: 1970Published: 26 Jan 2026
Apollo 13 launched on April 11, 1970, planning the first landing in the Fra Mauro highlands, but an oxygen tank explosion turned it into a survival mission.
Mission: 1970Published: 3 Jan 2026
A long-form documentary-style retelling of Apollo 13 built from the mission voice recordings and the Review Board report.
Published: 6 Dec 2025
This documentary-style explainer covers the early assembly of the International Space Station, from Zarya and Unity in 1998 through the 14 shuttle missions up to 2003.
Mission: 2003Published: 28 Nov 2025
A documentary on the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003, which killed all seven astronauts on the return from the 16-day STS-107 science mission.
Mission: 1986Published: 4 Nov 2025
STS-51-L, the 25th Space Shuttle mission, lifted off on January 28, 1986 in record cold, and Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds later, killing all seven crew members.
Published: 29 Oct 2025
Apollo 16 Lunar Module Pilot Charlie Duke gave this keynote at the 2nd Annual Astro Awards on January 26, 2025, recalling his career, the Saturn V launch, a control-system problem that nearly…
Mission: 1986Published: 27 Sep 2025
Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986, and all seven astronauts died.
Mission: 2003Published: 8 Aug 2025
A documentary on the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia on 1 February 2003, which killed all seven crew members on re-entry.
Published: 12 Jul 2025
A long-form history of the International Space Station, from early station proposals and Space Station Freedom through the Shuttle-era assembly, Expeditions, the Columbia pause, commercial cargo and…
Mission: 1970Published: 4 Jul 2025
After an oxygen tank rupture, Apollo 13 became a rescue effort with the lunar module serving as a lifeboat.
Mission: 1970Published: 10 May 2025
Part one of a documentary on Apollo 13, launched in April 1970 with Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.
Published: 6 May 2025
A children's educational overview of NASA's Apollo program, which aimed to take humans to the Moon and bring them home safely.
Mission: 1986Published: 3 Apr 2025
A short National Geographic UK segment recounts the Challenger accident of January 28th, 1986.
Mission: 1986Published: 25 Jan 2025
A National Geographic special built from archival news reports and NASA footage follows Christa McAuliffe's selection as the first Teacher in Space, the crew's training, and the launch of Challenger…
Mission: 1970Published: 6 Nov 2024
Apollo 13 was launched in April 1970 toward the Moon with Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise.
Published: 16 Oct 2024
A documentary history of Skylab, NASA's first space station, built from Apollo-era hardware.
Published: 17 Sep 2024
Explains why the Apollo Lunar Module looked the way it did: a two-stage design by Grumman built to save weight, with four legs, honeycomb shock absorbers, small windows and a thin hull wrapped in…
Published: 5 May 2024
A history of Skylab, America's first space station, from the Apollo Applications Program origins and the switch from a wet to a dry workshop, through the damaged launch on May 14, 1973, the three…
Published: 11 Feb 2024
A National Geographic Superstructures episode that takes the International Space Station apart system by system.
Mission: 2003Published: 1 Feb 2024
ABC News' Feb. 1, 2003 broadcast reported that Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry, killing all seven astronauts, about 16 minutes from home.
Mission: 1986Published: 30 Sep 2023
Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on January 28, 1986 and broke apart 73 seconds into flight.
Mission: 1986Published: 24 Jul 2023
A minute-by-minute account of Challenger mission STS-51-L, which launched on January 28, 1986 and broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew.
Mission: 1969Published: 3 May 2023
This documentary traces the road to Apollo 11, from Sputnik and Kennedy's 1961 goal through Mercury, Gemini and the early Apollo flights.
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