EVERY SUNDAY Biography

Meet the trailblazers, trendsetters, and architects of change. It’s the remarkable story of real people who made a real impact, from small towns to around the globe.

TODAY ON STORY

July 20, 2025

All times Eastern
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8:00A

4:00P

12:00A

Story Feature

To the Edge of Space: Project Manhigh

Controversy still swirls around Project Manhigh; we'll uncover why.

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5:00P

1:00A

Rockets!

Man in Space

As U.S. and Russian relations chill, the technological race to place a man in space heats up. Chronicles events and the people involved, from the Soviet's top-secret genius Korolov to the future of America's space program.

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6:00P

2:00A

Story Feature

Moon Landing: The Lost Tapes

On the 50th anniversary of the historic moon landing, this documentary unearths lost tapes of the Apollo 11 astronauts, and explores the dangers and challenges of the mission to the moon.

11:00A

7:00P

3:00A

Story Feature

Failure Is Not an Option

Based on the best-selling memoir by retired NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz, this 2-hour program tells the story of Mission Control during America's race to the Moon. For all the publicity about the astronauts, the men of Mission Control remain largely unknown to the public. Yet when President Kennedy challenged the nation to reach the moon, these young engineers were the ones who had to make it happen. Join us as these unlauded heroes tell their story for the first time.

1:00P

9:00P

10:00P

5:00A

6:00A

Tech Effect

Apollo 11

In 1961, President Kennedy challenged the nation to put a man on the moon before the decade ended. Just under the wire in July 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface. We examine that decade's technological advancements and see how they culminated in Apollo 11 and the lunar landing, including: spacesuits; Saturn V, the largest rocket ever built; the computers and cameras onboard the lunar module; and a deep-space network of satellites that beamed the images around the world.

1:30P

9:30P

5:30A

Perspectives

John Glenn

The man whose career path took him to the stars is spotlighted in a life study of the former astronaut and senator from Ohio.

2:00P

9:00P

10:00P

5:00A

6:00A

Modern Marvels

Apollo 11

As mankind's greatest achievement of the 20th century, Apollo 11 stood as the apogee of science, exploration, flight, and technological prowess. In scarcely 10 years, America went from rocketing monkeys to landing a man on the moon. Leaving Earth on July 16, 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Mike Collins pushed the limits of skill and endurance. See and experience the flight of Apollo 11 through the eyes of the astronauts, mission controllers, engineers, and designers who made it happen.

3:00P

11:00P

7:00A

Man, Moment, Machine

Apollo 13: Triumph on the Dark Side of the Moon

April 1970--the Apollo 13 mission is 178,000 miles from Earth, just two days away from a lunar landing, when an explosion rips the spacecraft apart and puts the crew's lives on the line. Captain Jim Lovell has to work quickly and decisively to save his crew and what's left of his ship. After struggling to stay alive for four days in a freezing cold spacecraft, no one knows if the command module carrying the astronauts can survive a fiery re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Only the leadership of Jim Lovell, the ingenuity of the NASA team in space and on the ground, and the robust systems of the spacecraft offer a chance for survival.

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