James May's 20th Century (2007)
S01E02 Blast Off
Episode Overview
As a young boy, James May dreamed of becoming an astronaut. Although he never reached that goal, he embarks on a journey to explore the impact of space exploration on him and humanity. His adventure begins with a moon buggy, officially known as the Lunar Rover Vehicle, which holds the title of the most expensive car ever made at a staggering $38 million. James starts his exploration in Chiswick, West London, where the space race made its mark in 1944 when a Nazi V2 rocket struck the area, a precursor to the Saturn V that would eventually take man to the Moon in 1969. He then teams up with amateur rocketeers to learn about rocket science through hands-on experience, before heading to Cape Canaveral, Florida. There, he meets an Apollo veteran and pays tribute to the towering Saturn V rocket. His quest continues at Jodrell Bank, where he delves into the mysteries of the universe via a massive radio telescope and grapples with the
