It acts on everything with mass including us ... Gravity attracts, governs, warps, shapes, makes and takes all matter and mass in the universe. Gravity holds our solar system together ... The cosmic glue that binds together all matter in the universe ... Gravity’s pulling power depends on mass and distance. In other words the bigger it is the harder it pulls on other objects. But that’s not all. This means if you double the distance between two objects, the attraction or pull is only a quarter of its original strength. The Universe s2e17: Gravity
Einstein realised that Gravity is really caused by huge objects likes stars and planets literally bending space itself. ibid.
Space itself then is the exception to the rule: it can expand faster than the speed of light. But everything inside it remains bound by Albert Einstein and his Theory of Relativity. The Universe s3e3: Light Speed, 2008
The first problem is zero gravity or more accurately micro-gravity. The second problem is high-energy radiation ... According to at least one astronaut being in space produced what he called the Viagra effect ... NASA flight surgeons believe the redistribution of blood in micro-gravity is the cause. The Universe s3e4: Sex in Space
In the vast reaches of Space there exists objects and phenomena that are as bizarre as anything found in science fiction. The Universe s3e10: Strangest Things
Space is jam-packed with some very weird things. The universe is full of objects and all sorts of mysterious phenomena that we still don’t fully understand. Strange as it may seem astronomers have discovered inter-stellar clouds actually filled with the same kind of alcohol that is found in beer. ibid.
It’s the turf of astronauts, space junk and the ultimate thrill seeker. The Universe s3e11: Edge of Space
Sending private citizens into space has changed the paradigm for space exploration. ibid.
About 20,000 pieces later Earth orbit has turned into a deadly debris-filled junkyard. ibid.
From skin cancer to lost transmissions these cosmic phenomena can cause us harm. The Universe s3e12: Cosmic Phenomenon
Auroras can last a few minutes to several days and be seen not only at the poles but also on rare occasions at lower latitudes. ibid.
Telephone-poll-sized rods streak down from outer space and obliterate targets on Earth. Powerful lasers instantly blast enemies in any direction. Missiles travelling near the speed of light deliver massive blasts without the use of explosives. And space pilots battle to the death … The Universe s4e8: Space Wars, 2009
They are humanity’s eyes and ears in deep space ... Space probes – robotic explorers that are humanity’s intergalactic avatars. The Universe s5e5: Secrets of the Space Probes
In the deep nothingness of space the cosmic silence is broken. Galaxies, stars, planets and moons sing out with strange and alien music. The Universe s7e2: Alien Sounds, 2012
In space no one can hear you scream ... A universe we can hear in all its variety. ibid.
A strange light in the heavens ... is it faith, fable or fact? The Universe s8e4: Ancient Mysteries Solved: Star of Bethlehem, 2014
Can something in space cause animals to be born with two heads? Why were the most fearsome warriors our planet has ever known stopped by a flaming light in the sky? How did Columbus use secret knowledge of the heavens to cheat death in the new world? Our ancestors saw a universe filled with bad omens. The Universe s9e1: Ancient Mysteries Solved: Omens of Doom, 2015
The face on Mars. Is this the Eye of God? Why is there a giant hexagon on Saturn? … The truth is out there. The Universe s9e2: Ancient Mysteries Solved: The Eye of God, 2015
Just getting into orbit is no small feat. As is illustrated by the fact that in all of recorded history only three countries – the United States, China and Russia – have been able to put a human just into orbit. And never being more than 400 miles from Earth. Apollo Zero, 2009
On 8th July 2011 Atlantis left the Earth for the last time. After thirty years and a hundred and thirty-five missions the Space Shuttle was making its final flight. Dr Kevin Fong, Space Shuttle: The Final Frontier, BBC 2011
On 1st February 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia was due to return from its sixteen-day mission to the International Space Station. In the skies above Texas, Columbia broke up as she hit the upper atmosphere. Her insulating shield had been damaged on take-off and she could not survive the heat of re-entry. All seven crew members were lost. ibid.
Challenger exploded seventy-three seconds into flight in the skies above Florida. A fault in one of the solid rockets boosters caused the catastrophic failure. ibid.
Without risk there is no progress. ibid.
It changed the way we saw the universe. It inspired everybody whose lives it touched. And it taught a generation to dream. So that for me is its legacy. It is the bridge to all our futures. ibid.
August 18th 1960: 160 kilometres above the Earth a secret race in space has just begun. Corona – America’s first photographic spy satellite – has become operational. The capsule was loaded with nearly a kilometre of film. Nova: Astrospies, PBS 2008
A new Soviet missile base close to the Arctic was in the final stages of completion. ibid.
Launching a man into space just couldn’t be kept secret. ibid.
They were to be known as astrospies. ibid.
Inside, the astrospies could look through a viewport and observe and photograph high priority targets in Russia and elsewhere. ibid.
In Russian ALMAZ means ‘a diamond in the rough’. It was the codename for the Soviet spy platform. A name that could never be spoken. ALMAZ was a state secret. ibid.
A 1963 Air Force briefing film titled Space and National Security depicted space as a battlefield. ibid.
The MOL’s camera was designed to spot objects as small as three inches. ibid.
At 8.50 on November 3rd the MOL programme got off the ground. ibid.
Major Robert Lawrence was one of the final crew members chosen for MOL. He was one of the Air Force’s best pilots. He had a PHd in chemistry. And he was the first African-American chosen to be an astronaut. ibid.
By the beginning of 1969 the secret race between Russia and the US to launch the first spies into space appeared to be neck and neck. ibid.
The end of the MOL turned out to be as low-key as its beginning. ibid.
Subsequent missions to ALMAZ were problematic. ibid.
This was the digital age of espionage. ibid.
On April 12th 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to go into space. It was the height of the Cold War. Storyville: Knocking on Heaven’s Door – Space Race, BBC 2012
Two Voyager spacecraft were launched in 1977. Their mission: to explore the outer solar system. They each carried a golden record: a time capsule of life on Earth, to communicate with aliens, should they ever encounter any … Storyville: The Farthest: Voyager’s Interstellar Journey, caption, BBC 2018
To improve their chances of success, two spacecraft would be built and launched. They began their lives in Pasadena, California, in 1972. ibid.
There were 27 pieces of music chosen for Voyager’s golden record, including Beethoven’s 5th. ibid.
It would take Voyager almost two years to reach Jupiter. ibid.
Jupiter: Voyager recorded the sounds of the violent radiation onslaught. ibid.
‘Every 48 seconds a new image would come down.’ ibid. Nasa dude
‘Now it’s five years of cruising out to Uranus’ [from Jupiter] ... ‘so remote it’s not even known until 200 years ago.’ ibid.
In January 1986 Voyager II arrived at Uranus, 1.8 billion miles from Earth. At closest approach, it flew just 51,000 miles above Uranus’ cloud tops. ibid.
In the summer of 1989, 12 years after leaving Earth, Voyager II finally approached Neptune, almost 3 billion miles away. ibid.
Voyager passed a mere 3,000 miles above Neptune’s north pole, arriving with split-second accuracy … ‘The southern hemisphere of Triton is entirely covered with nitrogen ice.’ ibid.
Triton: ‘Should have been a frozen cinder. The last place we would have expected to see further dynamics, further eruptions. ibid.
Voyager’s mission was now officially the interstellar mission. Its goal: to exit the heliosphere, the bubble of influence around our sun, and enter the galaxy beyond. ibid.
August 2012: ‘It just popped out of the bubble. Voyager I has left our solar system … now it’s in interstellar space.’ ibid.
Both Voyagers send signals home every day taking up to 18 hours to reach Earth. Voyager II has yet to reach interstellar space. ibid.
What’s left is empty space, and as it turns out, empty space is not nothing, it’s something. Something with hidden characteristics as real as all the stuff in our everyday lives. In fact, space is so real it can bend, space can twist, and it can ripple. Brian Greene, Beyond the Cosmos, National Geographic 2012
It’s speed that would lead Einstein to overturn Newton’s picture of space. ibid.