Space Race is a BBC docudrama series first shown in Britain on BBC2 between 14 September and 5 October 2005, chronicling the major events and characters in the American/Soviet space race up to the first landing of a man on the Moon. It focuses on Sergei Korolev, the Soviet chief rocket designer, and Wernher von Braun, his American counterpart. The series was a joint effort between British, German, American and Russian production teams.
Reception
Awards Royal Television Society 2006 Nominated: RTS Television Award for Best Production Design (Drama): Alan Spalding Sir Arthur Clarke Award 2006 Won: Sir Arthur Clarke Award for Best Presentation (TV & Radio)
Episodes
Episode 1: "Race For Rockets" (1944–1949) The results of Wernher von Braun's work on the V-2 for the Nazis at Mittelwerk and Peenemünde is shown, and his final activities within Germany during the last years of the Second World War, as both American and Soviet forces race to capture German rocket technology. However, when the Americans gain the upper hand by recovering von Braun and most of his senior staff, along with all their technical documents and much other materiel. Sergei Korolev's is released from the Gulag to act as the Soviets' rocketry expert alongside former colleague Valentin Glushko, and how he is set to work bringing Soviet rocket technology up to date with that of von Braun, working with what material and personnel are left after von Braun's escape to the US.
Episode 2: "Race For Satellites" (1953–1958) As the Cold War intensifies, Korolev is asked to build a rocket capable of carrying a five-ton warhead to America; he designs and constructs the R-7 Semyorka, the first ICBM, and is later allowed to use it to launch the first satellite, Sputnik 1, quickly following up with the rushed Sputnik 2. Meanwhile, von Braun struggles to persuade the US government to allow him to launch his own satellite; after Sputnik's launch and the failure of the US Navy to launch a Vanguard satellite, he is finally allowed to launch the first American satellite, Explorer 1. Korolev announces that the Americans have evened the score and that they are in a space race, which they intend to win. At the end of the episode, two men are shown walking down a corridor, one of them wearing a spacesuit.
Episode 3: "Race For Survival" (1959–1961) Both the Americans and Soviets are planning crewed space flights, and we see both sides preparing to do so with the development of the Vostok programme (USSR) and Project Mercury (USA). As well as basic details about the capsules and their delivery vehicles, we also see some of the selection and training of the Russian cosmonauts, and rather less of that of their counterparts in the US. After difficulties and failures on both sides, including a side story about a catastrophic failure of one of the first Russian ballistic missiles, the Soviets succeed in putting Yuri Gagarin into space first, with the Americans putting Alan Shepard up shortly afterwards.
Episode 4: "Race for the Moon" (1964–1969) Both countries now plan to put a man on the Moon; the Americans pull ahead in the space race with Project Gemini, but then suffer a disaster with the Apollo 1 fire. Meanwhile, despite a notable successes such as the first space walk by Alexei Leonov, the Soviet space programme struggles to keep up amid internal strife. Glushko and Korolev permanently fall out in an argument about fuel; Korolev turns to Nikolai Kuznetsov to develop engines instead. Kuznetsov delivers the NK-33, very efficient but much less powerful than the Americans' F-1. The Soviet program suffers further blows when Korolev dies during surgery, Gagarin dies in a jet crash, Soyuz 1 crashes and kills Vladimir Komarov, and the prototype booster for the Moon shot, the N-1 rocket, fails to successfully launch. In America, von Braun has continuing difficulties with the Saturn V, especially combustion instability in the large F-1 engine, but these are ultimately overcome almost by brute force at great expense, and the rocket successfully launches the first crewed lunar mission, Apollo 8, and the first crewed lunar landing, Apollo 11. The final episode finishes with brief text summaries of the remaining careers of the various people involved.
Production details The BBC filmed Space Race in and around the town of Sibiu, Transylvania in Romania. Romania has signed the EU co-production treaty which allows for EU co-productions. Compared to other locations, Romania attracted the BBC with unspoiled natural locations, experienced crews and moderately priced production facilities. The series was filmed with the Panasonic SDX 900 DVCPro50 professional camcorder. This allowed keeping to the speedy shooting schedule and provided the 'gritty' look appropriate to the time period. Shot in widescreen 25fps progressive mode, the series deliver rich, filmic feel, which compares favourably with high definition.
Cast Richard Dillane – Wernher von Braun Steve Nicolson – Sergei Korolev John Warnaby – Vasily Mishin Ravil Isyanov – Valentin Glushko Rupert Wickham – Kurt H. Debus Tim Woodward – Marshal Mitrofan Nedelin Eric Loren – Castenholz Chris Robson – Dieter Huzel Mark Dexter – Staver Oliver de la Fosse – Staver's Lieutenant Vitalie Ursu – Yuri Gagarin Oleg Stefan – Alexei Leonov Mariya Mironova – Nina Jeffry Wickham – Nikolai Kuznetsov Robert Jezek – Robert R. Gilruth Robert Lindsay – Narrator Stuart Bunce – Lev Gaidukov David Barrass – Helmut Gröttrup Constantine Gregory – Nikita Khrushchev Simon Day – Kammler Nicholas Rowe – R. V. Jones Mikhail Gorevoy – Ivan Serov Stephen Greif – Colonel Holger Toftoy Anna Barkan – Ksenia Koroleva Max Bollinger – Russian cosmonaut (VO) Todd Boyce – Alan Shepard Emil Măndănac – Viacheslav Lapo, Russian sound technician Mihai Dinvale – German Scientist Anthony Edridge – Chris Kraft
Inaccuracies and errors Most of the historical and technological data presented in the series are heavily simplified, and sometimes contain outright untruths or errors. The series would best be described and interpreted as giving a general impression of the subject matter, rather than rigorous factual account.
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