OPERATION SPACE STATION: HIGH-RISK BUILD premieres Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 9 p.m.ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS
OPERATION SPACE STATION: SCIENCE AND SURVIVAL premieres Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS
New two-part special will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App
BOSTON, MA – September 29, 2025 – The award-winning PBS science series, NOVA, a production of GBH, today announced the two-part documentary special “OPERATION SPACE STATION” will premiere November 5 and 12, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS (check local listings) and will also be available for streaming at pbs.org/nova, NOVA on YouTube, and the PBS App. 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.
“What’s remarkable about the stories that OPERATION SPACE STATION tells is the way they remind us that the potential for disaster is a constant companion for the astronauts and how time and again, through innovative ideas and productive collaboration, they averted disaster,” said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Chris Schmidt. “Over 25 years of continual habitation, not a single life was lost aboard the ISS. It’s a testament to the courage and dedication of every astronaut and engineer. This film is comprehensive, emotional, and cinematic, and a real inside look at how humanity can thrive under extreme conditions.”
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.
“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.”
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.
OPERATION SPACE STATION: HIGH-RISK BUILD premieres Wednesday, November 5, 2025, at 9 p.m.ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS (check local listings). OPERATION SPACE STATION: SCIENCE AND SURVIVAL premieres Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on PBS (check local listings). Both episodes will be available for streaming atpbs.org/nova,NOVA on YouTube, thePBS Documentaries Prime Video Channel, and thePBS App, available on iOS, Android, Roku streaming devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO. PBS station members can view many series, documentaries and specials viaPBS Passport. For more information about PBS Passport, visit thePBS Passport FAQ website.
OPERATION SPACE STATION is 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.
Funding for this program and NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies, Viking Cruises, the NOVA Science Trust with support from Margaret and Will Hearst and Howard and Eleanor Morgan, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS viewers.
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About NOVA
NOVA is the most popular primetime science series on American television, demystifying the scientific and technological concepts that shape and define our lives, our planet, and our universe. The PBS series is also one of the most widely distributed science programs around the world, and is a multimedia, multiplatform brand reaching more than 55 million Americans every year on TV and online. NOVA’s important and inspiring stories of human ingenuity, exploration, and the quest for knowledge are regularly recognized with the industry’s most prestigious awards. In addition, science educators across the country rely on NOVA for resources used in the classroom as well as in museums, libraries, and after-school programs. NOVA is a production of GBH; more information can be found atpbs.org/nova, or by following NOVA onFacebook,X (formerly Twitter), orInstagram.
About PBS
PBS, with more than 330 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and digital content. Each month, PBS reaches over 36 million adults on linear primetime television, more than 16 million users on PBS-owned streaming platforms, 53 million viewers on YouTube, and 60 million people view PBS content on social media, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature, and public affairs and to take front-row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS’s broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry’s most coveted award competitions. Teachers of children from pre-K through 12th grade turn toPBS LearningMedia for digital content and services that help bring classroom lessons to life. As the number one educational media brand,PBS KIDS helps children 2-8 build critical skills, enabling them to find success in school and life. Delivered through member stations, PBS KIDS offers high-quality content on TV — including a PBS KIDS channel — and streaming free on pbskids.org and thePBS KIDS Video app, games on thePBS KIDS Games app, and in communities across America. More information about PBS is available atPBS.org, one of the leading dot-org websites on the internet, Facebook,Instagram, or through our apps for mobile and connected devices. Specific program information and updates for press are available at pbs.org/pressroom or by followingPBS Communications on X.
About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station; and as a partner to New England Public Media in Springfield. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.
About Blink Films
Blink films is one of the UK’s leading producers of high-quality, award-winning factual television content for broadcasters and streamers worldwide, including Netflix, ABC, Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+, Max, Prime Video, National Geographic, History, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5. Our returning and limited series, features, and theatrical releases span blue-chip science and history documentaries, high-profile investigations and experiments which generate headlines around the world, talent-led popular factual formats, music and the arts, advertiser-funded content, and access-driven premium true crime stories. We are experts at successfully pulling together multiple international partners to co-produce landmark documentaries for audiences worldwide. Blink Films is a Tin Roof Media company.
