When We Left Earth - The NASA Missions (4-Disc Set in Limited Edition Tin)

An exceptional look at the space race and beyond, "When We Left Earth" provides us with a glimpse of the stars as seen from the astronauts, engineers and those that helped create the massive space craft that put us up there. Extremely well made, "When We Left Earth" covers everything from the early Mercury missions, the snafus that we ran into along the way and the tragedies that also occurred along with the triumphs. What's surprising is that the documentary is fair balanced pointing out when NASA failed or in the case of Challenger that there were known problems with O ring that they were advised against the launch.

The images are often stunning--images of space and much footage that hasn't been seen before in addition to the popular footage of the moon landings, etc. that we've seen. The extras are quite good with a documentary on "Friendship 7" and John Glenn's historic flight. We also get featurettes on Skylab, the Gemini missions (including an excerpt from a NASA feature film on the Gemini missions)and interviews.

THis is a terrific set for anybody interested in the history of space flight or even someone who wants to find out about when humanity first stretched its wings and looked beyond the blue sky of our atmosphere.

This version is different than what was on the Discovery Channel. There's more footage, and the missions are often narrated in more detail. This is a must have for every space history buff. There's so much footage I've never seen before. And that doesn't include the hours of NASA films from the era.

There are only two issues I have that keep this from being a five-star review. I'd really give it a 4.5.

1) There's the "Boom de ya da" ad for the Discovery Channel that goes on at the start of every disc you cannot skip.

2) The music, while good, gets repetitive and bombastic after a while.

Lots of unseen footage from the NASA archives, however for far more indepth coverage of the early days and how they got there, the one to buy is 'Rocket Science', which is also available only used now.

The major flaw in this series is that they speak nothing of the pioneers of rocketry, i.e. Goddard, Von Braun and Korolyov. Also Gene Cernans' perfect observation to the effect that what a shame it is that he was the last one to be on the moon and that was over 30 years ago.Rocket Science

The six hour-long episodes include:

ORDINARY SUPERMAN
NASA selects seven men to become the first astronauts. They're all test pilots, prepared to risk their lives. No one has ever survived a vertical launch on top of a rocket, but it's the only way they know to put an astronaut into earth orbit. The Mercury astronauts and engineers need to figure out how to launch a man into space on top of a converted intercontinental ballistic missile.

FRIENDS AND RIVALS
For Project Gemini, a new generation of astronauts arrive at NASA -- their mission, to test all the procedures required to land men on the moon and bring them safely back to earth. Each Gemini mission launches two men into space, leading to some of NASA's greatest moments -- Ed White's spacewalk, the first orbital rendezvous of Gemini 6 and 7.

LANDING THE EAGLE
The Apollo program is set to achieve the ultimate prize of the Space Race, landing men on the moon. But a fire breaks out in the pressurized capsule of Apollo 1, resulting in the deaths of Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. But NASA's astronauts and engineers turn tragedy into triumph with the first manned launch of the formidable Saturn V rocket, lifting three astronauts into deep space for the first time. Two missions later and NASA is ready to land men on the moon in the ultimate test of America's spacefaring vision.

THE EXPLORERS
Now that NASA has mastered the lunar round trip, they want to explore more of the moon's mysteries. With Apollo 13, they face their biggest crisis in space -- returning a damaged spacecraft back safely to earth. Undaunted, NASA launches more moon missions and a new lunar rover that allows wide-ranging lunar surface expiditions. Apollo 17 is the longest moon mission and the last time man would set foot on the moon for generations. In a new phase of the space program, NASA converts an unused Saturn V rocket into Skylab, America's first space-station. But by the time it reaches orbit it's badly damaged. For the first time, astronauts will have to work outside the spaceship to save the space-station.

THE SHUTTLE
For its first 20 years, NASA launches capsules carrying a maximum of three people. But new requirements for a bigger cargo bay prompt a breakthrough in spacecraft design. The development of the reusable shuttle leads to a revolutionary approach to space travel, but somebody has to test fly it in space for the first time. That requires a true test pilot, John Young, the man who sat alongside Gus Grissom on the first Gemini flight. NASA's manned programs are again leading the way, but space travel remains as dangerous as ever and tragedy again strikes NASA when the Challenger explodes.

HOME IN SPACE
One of the most complex instruments ever built, the Hubble Space Telescope is expected to transform our understanding of the Universe. But once it is in orbit, NASA discovers a serious problem, a defective main mirror that leaves Hubble short-sighted. NASA sends a team of astronauts to fix the problem, but it won't be easy. It is NASA's greatest and highest profile mission since the Apollo era. It gives NASA the confidence to begin construction on the International Space Station. More astronauts are in space simultaneously than ever before. And despite the tragedy of Columbia, NASA's astronauts are pioneering the way back to the moon, Mars and beyond.

I will definitely purchase the series the day it's released. It is the best series I've seen for NASA and the personal recollections and stories of the astronauts are wonderful. It's a beautifully done series, and I highly recommend it.