How Bernard Lovell's telescope was used by both the Americans and the Russians to track their competing spacecraft and put Britain at the forefront of radio astronomy.
The unlikely story of how one man with some ex-WWII army equipment eventually turned a muddy field in Cheshire into a key site in the space race. That man was Bernard Lovell, and his telescope at Jodrell Bank would be used at the height of the Cold War by both the Americans and the Russians to track their competing spacecraft. It also put Britain at the forefront of radio astronomy, a new science which transformed our knowledge of space and provided the key to understanding the most mind-bending theory of the beginnings of the universe - the Big Bang.
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Clips
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Sir Bernard Lovell's "spark" moment
Duration: 01:22
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The Russian probe Luna 2
Duration: 03:30
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Building the Lovell telescope
Duration: 01:59
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Cold War player
Duration: 02:05
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:01Bonobo
Kiara
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00:02Bonobo
Prelude
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00:03John Coltrane
Blue Train
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00:03John Coltrane
Blue Train
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00:03Bonobo
Kiara
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00:07Nina Simone
I Put A Spell On You
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00:11The Chordettes
Mr Sandman
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00:11Glenn Miller
In The Mood (feat. Jodie Prenger)
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00:13Miles Davis
So What
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00:21Ted Heath & His Music
Ad Lib Frolic
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00:36John Barry
Main Title (from The Ipcress File)
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00:40Johann Sebastian Bach
Well Tempered Clavier Book I - Prelude and Fugue in C BWV896
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00:42Bill Evans
Peace Piece
Performer: Bill Evans. -
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00:43The Byrds
Eight Miles High
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00:45Echo & the Bunnymen
The Killing Moon
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00:51Joy Division
Disorder
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00:56Radiohead
Reckoner
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Narrator | Maxine Peake |
| Producer | Chloe Penman |
| Director | Chloe Penman |
| Series Producer | William Naylor |
| Executive Producer | Michael Poole |
Broadcasts
- Mon 16 Nov 2015 21:00
- Tue 17 Nov 2015 02:50
- Sun 22 Nov 2015 19:00
- Wed 16 Dec 2015 20:00
- Sun 3 Jul 2016 23:30
- Wed 6 Jul 2016 02:00
- Thu 1 Sep 2016 23:00
- Fri 2 Sep 2016 02:45
- Sun 14 May 2017 23:25
- Thu 18 May 2017 01:35
- Wed 9 Aug 2017 00:00
- Thu 31 Aug 2017 23:00
- Sun 16 Dec 2018 23:15
- Thu 27 Jun 2019 00:00
- Thu 23 Apr 2020 20:00
- Wed 11 Aug 2021 22:50
- Mon 25 Apr 2022 23:55
- Tue 19 Mar 2024 21:00
- Thu 21 Mar 2024 23:50