Main content

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

Is human spaceflight worth the risk? The space shuttle programme is put on hold as Nasa and the whole team come to terms with what happened.

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 ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Audio Science Unit production for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ World Service.

Hosted by space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock.

Theme music by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg, and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Archive:
Birth of the space shuttle, Nasa Archives, 1972
Ronald Reagan addresses nation after STS-51-L accident, Reagan Library, 1986
Richard Nixon launches Nasa's space shuttle program, CBS News, 1972
STS-26 launch coverage, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½, 1988
Mission audio and oral histories, Nasa History Office

Release date:

Available now

39 minutes

Featured

  • .

Featured in...

Season 3: The Space Shuttle

Season 3: The Space Shuttle

The space shuttle: A sci-fi dream that became reality and changed spaceflight forever

Season 2: The Apollo 13 story

Season 2: The Apollo 13 story

Jump on-board a doomed mission to the Moon. Apollo 13: the extraordinary story

Season 1: The Apollo 11 story

Season 1: The Apollo 11 story

How the first moon landing was saved. The story of the people who made Apollo 11 happen

Podcast