Documentary recounting the extraordinary story of the Space Shuttles, the world's first reusable spacecraft. Conceived 50 years ago, it was hoped the Shuttle's would be a new, safe and cost effective way of getting into space. Flying 17500 miles an hour, 13 times faster than Concorde and with heatproof skin that could withstand temperatures twice as hot as larva, the Shuttles pushed technology to new highs. The man charged with making the maiden space flight in 1981, Bob Crippen reveals how the first mission nearly ended in disaster when part of the Shuttle's heatshield failed. But the flight was a success and the Shuttle fleet got to work. With room for 8 astronauts the Shuttles would carry more equipment and more people into space than any other spaceship. And the Shuttles allowed NASA to open its doors to women for the first time. As Rhea Seddon, the first female Shuttle Astronaut recounts NASA wasn't prepared for the new arrivals and had to invent special space nappies so they could use the spacesuits. But away from the cameras there was another side to the Shuttles. Historian Roland White reveals from the outset the Shuttles had been designed to carry out secret spy missions for the US military. In 1983 President Regan became determined to use them to build his famous Star Wars missile defence shield in space and win the Cold War. But costing up to $15bn a launch, the Shuttles were proving to be far harder to maintain and more expensive than predicted. As Wayne Hale, the man in charge of the Shuttle program explains in 1986, NASA was so desperate to keep the public onside, it came up with a plan to send an ordinary citizen, teacher Christa McAuliffe into space and beam a lesson live into US classrooms. But, when NASA ignored warnings from its own engineers and when Shuttle Challenger exploded, killing Christa and rest of the crew, the shuttle program faced being shut down.