It has no pilot, no windows, and it’s flown by remote control. But this odd-looking plane is already credited with helping destroy nearly 750 enemy targets. It’s the Predator, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Join NOVA for this rare look at some of the most significant developments in military weaponry, and learn about the UAV’s dangerous and costly history, how flying insects are helping researchers create the first micro UAV, and how the military’s unmanned aerial vehicles may someday lead to pilotless commercial air travel.
Producers: WGBH
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Top Gun Over Moscow
For half a century we feared them. Now, for the first time, meet the rugged pilots of the Russian Air Force- and take a close-up look at the heart-stopping maneuvers that still fill Western flyers with awe.
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B-29 Frozen in Time
Travel on a perilous mission to repair and refly a rare B-29 bomber stranded on a Greenland icecap for almost 50 years. NOVA follows bold pilot Darryl Greenamyer and his team on two expeditions to revive Kee Bird and make it fly again in one of the most isolated and harshest environments on Earth. Despite severe weather, illness and difficulties with the shuttle plane in 1994, Greenamyer returns in May 1995 with a larger crew, a more reliable shuttle plane and a new plan to bring Kee Bird back to life and back home.
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War Planes
Set includes B-29 Frozen in Time, Battle of the X-Planes, Spies That Fly, and Top Gun Over Moscow. 280 min on 4 discs
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Hurricane! – Katrina, Gilbert, and Camille
On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, killing at least 1,300, destroying over 600,000 houses, and turning downtown New Orleans into an uninhabitable swamp. Hurricane Katrina: The Storm that Drowned a City presents astonishing storm footage, suspenseful eyewitness testimony, and a penetrating analysis of what went wrong. Viewers relive the storm through the eyes of survivors and the stories of top engineers, hurricane experts, and emergency officials as they grappled with the arrival of the storm and its traumatic aftermath. Hurricane! – Witness nature’s fury as hurricanes Camille and Gilbert crash onto the Gulf coast. “It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen,” says Hugh Willoughby, relishing the unusual object of his profession. “That’s one of the reasons why people fly into hurricanes.” Join Willoughby on a data-gathering flight made into the eye of Hurricane Gilbert in September 1988. NOVA obtained spectacular footage of the storm’s center–a canyon of clear blue sky surrounded by a wall of clouds 10 miles high. Watch how these highly-trained scientists routinely–and carefully–fly into the world’s most destructive storms to discover what makes them tick and to measure their intensity and probable path. Then hear first-hand accounts of Hurricane Camille, the most devastating storm ever to strike the United States. (112 min on 2 discs)
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Treasures of the Great Barrier Reef
The brilliant colors and extraordinary creatures of the undersea world are revealed as NOVA takes you on the most dramatic tour ever of the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia.
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The Great Robot Race
Twenty-three bizarre looking vehicles line up at the starting gate of the DARPA Grand Challenge with one thing in common: there’s nobody behind the wheel. Sponsored by the Pentagon’s research agency, this race for robotic, driverless vehicles has a $2 million prize. Its ultimate goal is to gather new ideas for the future of unmanned warfare. NOVA follows the competing engineering teams as they deal with the glitches, system crashes, and tight deadlines that threaten to derail them at every turn. NOVA’s cameras capture the race’s technical challenges, hilarious pitfalls, and a final twist as a surprise contender comes up from behind to steal the race.
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The Private Lives of Dolphins
Dive beneath the surface and explore the secret world of dolphins. NOVA offers a rare glimpse into the private lives of dolphins with amazing scientific evidence collected over nearly 30 years. Visit a remote beach on Shark Bay off Australia’s western coast where wild bottlenose dolphins make a daily visit to swim, feed and mingle with people of all ages. Travel to Sarasota Bay, Florida and experience life in a remarkable “dolphin colony” that’s been tracked, tested and recorded over two decades and three generations. And enjoy this unprecedented look at the rarely seen underwater world of dolphins.
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The Unknown World
They’re hiding in your closet. They’re lurking in your bed. They’re all over you–snacking on your skin, burrowing through your scalp, munching on your mascara. They’re the creepy crawlers of the unknown world, and now–thanks to micro-photographer Lennart Nilsson, who brought us The Miracle of Life–you can (shudder) catch these critters in the act, magnified to monster size.
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The World in the Balance (DVD)
It took all of human history until 1800 for the world’s population to reach its first billion. Now we add a new billion nearly every dozen years. Over the next half century, 98 percent of that growth will take place in our planet’s poorest regions. And as the global total swells to nearly 9 billion by 2050, the social and environmental strains will be enormous. Through vivid personal stories, The Population Paradox reveals many startling trends. In this groundbreaking, worldwide investigation of humanity’s future, NOVA shows how decisions made now will change the fate of everyone over the next fifty years.