Air & Space Smithsonian: Dreams of Flight - Higher Faster Farther

On 21 December 1988 a Pan Am 747 jet exploded over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie. On the 25th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on British soil, this is the story.

The De Havilland Comet was the world's first passenger jet airliner. But less than two years into service, two aircraft blew up in mid-air, killing all aboard. PM Winston Churchill ordered an assemblage of experts to discover what went wrong - in the process, inventing many of the air crash investigation techniques still used today.

Four hard-hitting stores, from the deadliest period in U.S. Army Aviation, since Vietnam. Actual footage from the events, and interviews from the Soldiers, who were there - bring these intense and touching stories of courage and sacrifice to life.

Documentary following researchers as they try to take the first-ever picture of a black hole. They must travel the globe to build a revolutionary telescope that spans planet Earth.

What’s it like to dedicate your life to work that won’t be completed in your lifetime? Fifteen years ago, filmmaker David Licata focused on four projects and the people behind them in an effort to answer this universal question.

Portrait of Rolf Ewald, a flight obsessive, who recounts his experiences as a pilot and manager at Düsseldorf Airport in an impressive way.

Documentary about icelandic aviators.

The final days of 617 Squadron based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. The famous Dambusters squadron faces an uncertain future as the plane they fly, the Avro Vulcan, is withdrawn from service.

This documentary profiles the major jets used by the RAF between 1945 and the mid-1950s, the period when the British air force was the second largest in the world

The story of the Arrow had its origins in the Cold War and the growing spectre of Soviet bombers invading our northern skies.

"The World's Most Powerful Telescopes" is a research expedition across the southern firmament. The science documentary shows the powerful telescopes of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in action and gives insight into the discoveries they make. The world's most powerful telescopes can be found atop the highest peaks of northern Chile, amidst the exotic flora and fauna of one of the driest regions on the planet: the Atacama Desert. This is the starting point for a journey to the outer edges of our universe.

On an expedition through Latin America, Italian General Italo Balbo made the Atlantic crossing with his seaplane squadron, which left Boloma, entered Brazilian territory via Natal and now ended its journey in the capital Rio de Janeiro. Arrival of the fascist squadron at Enseada de Botafogo. People, many in boats, applaud the descent of the seaplanes. A group of officers searches the soldiers in profile. Italo Balbo, Ambassador Vittorio Cerrutti and Royal Consul Onorevole Mammalella watch the parade of troops. A group of officers with Col. Magdalena, "the intrepid hero of several aerial feats". At the Catete Palace, Balbo and Cerrutti are received by the President of the Provisional Government, Getúlio Vargas, and his ministers. The Italian delegation leaves the Catete Palace.

It contains 99.9 percent of all the matter in our solar system and sheds hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour. The temperature at its core is a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. It convulses, it blazes, it sings. You know it as the sun. Scientists know it as one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe.

A British expeditionary team attempt a dangerous, world-first circumnavigation of the Earth in an 80-year-old vintage World War II fighter to inspire a new generation through the freedom of flight.

Aspiring teenage astronauts reveal that a journey to Mars is closer than you think.

Panair do Brasil revives the story of the most important commercial aviation company in Brazil, between 1930 and 1965, with its commercial daring in establishing routes to the four corners of a continental country, taking the adventure of air transport to never-before imagined places, as well as the first international routes. Four decades after it closed its doors, it still retains a marked presence in the country's collective imagination for its pioneering spirit and stories of heroic deeds and for the bewilderment which was aroused by the facts surrounding its closure during the military regime.

Have you ever dreamed of flying in the world's hottest fighter aircraft? Welcome to Eagle country! You're now holding Zulu alert cocked and ready in Central Europe scrambling after intruders trying to penetrate your airspace. Is this another drill, or the beginning of Round Three!! You are slammed into the ejection seat by gut-wrenching G forces as you push your Eagle to the limit while going head to head with F-14s, F-16s and F-18s in air to air combat during Red Flag and William Tell. Brief with pilots as they discuss tactics, missions, weapons and work with Eagle-Keepers as they maintain the ultimate air superiority fighter. Experience the thrill of mid-air refuelling while Eagles deploy their fire power around the clock and around the world. The new F-15E Dual Role Fighter takes you under the weather day or night at the speed of heat with the magic Lantirn. The F-15 Eagle stands out as America's finest flown by their finest.

At any given moment hundreds of people are soaring above us in a 747. From the moment the very first jumbo jet took off in 1969, it has been the aircraft against which all others are judged. But its 45-year journey has been anything but smooth. This is the definitive story of the Boeing 747, from its milestones and triumphs to its turning points and disasters. Witness its history through rare archival footage and tales from pilots, engineers, designers, and passengers who were there when it all began.

The captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity's greatest achievements in exploration: NASA's Voyager mission.

How can structures, which take up defined, rigid portions of space, make us feel transcendence? How can chapels turn into places of introspection? How can walls grant boundless freedom? Driven by intense childhood impressions, director Christoph Schaub visits extraordinary churches, both ancient and futuristic, and discovers works of art that take him up to the skies and all the way down to the bottom of the ocean. With the help of architects Peter Zumthor, Peter Märkli, and Álvaro Siza Vieira, artists James Turrell and Cristina Iglesias, and drummer Sergé “Jojo” Mayer, he tries to make sense of the world and decipher our spiritual experiences using the seemingly abstract concepts of light, time, rhythm, sound, and shape. The superb cinematography turns this contemplative search into a multi-sensory experience.