Premieres Wednesdays Nov. 5 and 12, 2025 / Stream with KPBS+ / Encores Sunday, Nov. 9 and 16 at 3 p.m. on KPBS TV and 9 p.m. on KPBS 2 + Thursdays, Nov.13 at 9 p.m. and 20 on KPBS 2
Over two thrilling hours, OPERATION SPACE STATION recounts the personal stories of ingenuity and international teamwork from the people behind the scientific feats of building, operating and conducting research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) over the last three decades.
The size of a football field, the ISS hurtles around Earth at 17,000 mph, shielding its astronauts from one of the most hostile environments humans have ever endured.
To mark the 25th anniversary of continuous human presence in space, astronauts and Mission Control insiders reveal some of the most terrifying moments aboard this remarkable orbiting laboratory, where a single mistake could prove fatal.
From a near-drowning in space, to toxic chemical leaks and the moment the entire station backflipped out of control, OPERATION SPACE STATION uncovers tales of life-or-death drama at 1.3 million feet above our planet – and the human ingenuity that each time saved the day.
EPISODE GUIDE:
The first episode, titled "High-Risk Build," explores the construction of the ISS, an unprecedented feat of engineering. Every step of this ambitious project unfolded against the backdrop of a merciless vacuum, dangerous radiation, and extreme temperatures. And the assembly of the station wasn’t without its challenges.
On one space walk, astronaut Robert Curbeam recounts how he was sprayed by toxic ammonia. Later, the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster stalled the ISS build for years, forcing the station to be crewed by only two astronauts. When the Space Shuttle finally returned to service, astronaut Wendy Lawrence recounts how extra scrutiny revealed damage from the takeoff that required an emergency spacewalk to ensure Space Shuttle Discovery would not suffer the same fate as Columbia. Each crisis demonstrates how a combination of quick thinking and nerves of steel helped the crew on board the ISS survive.
The second episode, "Science and Survival," documents the unexpected challenges that the crew faced once the ISS was complete. Aside from how to use the bathroom in space – which astronaut Chris Cassidy attests isn’t the easiest process – they share more stories of danger and heroism, from the time astronaut Luca Marmitano’s helmet filled with water while on a spacewalk, to the time a software glitch on a new module propelled the entire station to spin out of control.
This episode showcases the resourcefulness, courage, and international cooperation required to overcome these life-threatening emergencies, and how this unique orbiting laboratory has pushed the boundaries of science. But it also looks ahead to the station’s future: while the ISS continues to unite humanity in the pursuit of knowledge beyond Earth, its remarkable journey is scheduled to conclude in 2030, when it is de-orbited and guided into the ocean.
Featuring cinematic recreations and cutting-edge CGI, OPERATION SPACE STATION melds over 25 years of NASA archival footage with state-of-the-art visual storytelling and dramatic recreations. The result is an immersive experience that places viewers inside the cramped modules and spacewalks, to experience the claustrophobia, wonder, and split-second decisions that defined life aboard humanity's most remote outpost.
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Credits: A NOVA production by Blink Films for GBH in association with France Télévisions. Written and directed by Oscar Chan. Executive Producers for Blink Films are Tom Adams and Dan Chambers. Line Producer is Renate Brown. Producer is Sophie Burley. Producer (France) is Celine Fitzmaurice. Edited by Oscar Chan and Matt Scragg. Senior Producer for NOVA is Caitlin Saks. Executive Producers for NOVA are Julia Cort and Chris Schmidt. NOVA is a production of GBH.
"When you see the challenges that these astronauts had to overcome, you realize how thin the margin for error really is," said Executive Producer Dan Chambers. "These moments aren't just highlighting technical failures – they're showing people solving impossible problems, in the harshest environment we know of, with physics, chemistry, and sheer will.”
