Space travel used to be a dream that belonged to the great nations, as America and Russia competed to reach the Moon. But today it’s a different story as new technologies and lower costs put the cosmos in reach of private companies.
Documentary Rise Of The Rockets (Friday 19th, 9pm) explores the new thirst for space travel, from NASA’s ambition to take humankind far beyond Earth in a rocket to rival the mighty Saturn 5, to the efforts of private companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic.
The 1980s saw privatised space travel boom and bust. Are the dreams of today’s generation anything more than hype and wishful thinking? Are we witnessing the Rise Of The Rockets? Or will they crash and burn?
