See below for a list of the special Summer of Space programming airing on CPTV in July and August 2019!

Secrets of the DeadGalileo’s Moon
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 2 at 8 p.m.  (Premiere)
Join experts as they uncover the truth behind the find of the century: an alleged proof copy of Galileo’s “Sidereus Nuncius” with the astronomer’s signature and seemingly original watercolor paintings that changed our understanding of the cosmos.


NOVA – Black Hole Apocalypse (Parts 1 & 2)
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 3 at 9 p.m. (Parts 1 & 2 air back-to-back)
Join astrophysicist and novelist Janna Levin on a mind-blowing voyage to the frontiers of black hole science, which is shining new light on the most powerful and mysterious objects in the universe.


Antiques Roadshow – Out of This World
On CPTV: Monday, July 8 at 8 p.m. (Premiere)
Explore the universe of space-themed treasures, including NASA Space Program autographed photos, a 1737 celestial and terrestrial atlas, and a Star Trek treatment, script, and letters. Have the values of these stellar finds skyrocketed in the market?


Chasing the Moon: American Experience (3-Part Series)

Part 1: A Place Beyond the Sky
On CPTV: Monday, July 8 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
Encores Monday, July 8 at 11 p.m. & Tuesday, July 16 at 8 p.m.
This episode begins in 1957 and tracks the early years of the space race as the United States struggled to catch up with the Soviet Union.  The episode explores both the successes and failures of America’s early space program, and the enormous stakes involved in the quest to reach the moon.

Part 2: Earthrise
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 9 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
Encores on Tuesday, July 9 at 11 p.m. & Tuesday, July 23 at 8 p.m.
Earthrise covers four heady, dangerous years in the history of the space race: 1964 – 1968.  As Americans moved through the sixties and reflected on the challenges ahead, many wondered: What exactly would it take to beat the Soviets to the moon?

Part 3: Magnificent Desolation
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 10 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
Encores Wednesday, July 10 at 11 p.m. & Tuesday, July 30 at 8 p.m.
After the successful Apollo 8 mission, questions about the space program emerged with new intensity.  Dr. von Braun’s Nazi past came into sharp focus as the public began to question his role at NASA. As newly elected President Nixon waxed philosophic about the achievements of Apollo 8, violent protests and a cultural revolution shook the nation.


Space Men: American Experience
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 9 at 8 p.m.
Meet the pioneering Air Force scientists and pilots whose Project Manhigh, which collected data about the biological and technical factors required to support human activity in space, laid the groundwork for the U.S. space program. 


NOVA – Back to the Moon
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 10 at 8 p.m. (Premiere)
Fifty years after humans first set foot on the moon, new scientific discoveries are fueling excitement for a return to the lunar surface — this time, perhaps, to stay. Join the scientists and engineers working to make life on the moon a reality.



Space Chase U.S.A.
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 16 at 10 p.m. (Premiere)
Explore the extraordinary events that transformed the small beach town of Cocoa Beach, Fla., into a bustling center for the American space program. Featuring a trove of archival material and interviews with longtime residents, former Apollo astronauts, and Cape Canaveral-based engineers and employees, the program charts the history of the space program in Florida during the 1950s and 1960s.


NOVA – Apollo’s Daring Mission
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 17 at 8 p.m.
Hear Apollo astronauts and engineers tell the inside story of how the first mission to the moon, Apollo 8, pioneered groundbreaking technologies that would pave the way to land a man on the moon and win the space race.


8 Days: To the Moon and Back
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 17 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
Join Apollo 11 on its historic journey. This film seamlessly blends mission audio featuring conversations among Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins with new footage, NASA archive, and stunning CGI to recreate the first moon landing.


POV Shorts – Earthrise
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 17 at 10:30 p.m.  (Premiere)
Earthrise tells the story of the first image captured of Earth from space in 1968. Told by the Apollo 8 astronauts, this short film recounts their experiences and explores the beauty and grandeur of Earth against the blackness of space.


Legends of Airpower – Colonel John Glenn
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 23 at 10 p.m.
Marine aviator, the first American to orbit the earth, Mercury astronaut, U.S. Senator from Ohio, and Space Shuttle crew member at 77 years old — what else needs to be said? John Glenn is a true
“Legend of Airpower.”


Legends of Airpower – Buzz Aldrin
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 23 at 10:30 p.m.
Everyone knows the name Buzz Aldrin from the historic Apollo 11 landing. But before NASA, this famed astronaut was a Sabre pilot in Korea. After the war, he proved his mental prowess by knocking them dead at MIT, and jumping headfirst into the space program. Even today Aldrin just won’t quit, working tirelessly to make space travel available to everyone, not just legends.


Ancient Skies (3-Part Series)

Part 1: Gods and Monsters
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 24 at 8 p.m. (Premiere)
Explore the origins of our relationship with the skies. Our ancestors used the sky to navigate and tell time, and give religious significance to what they saw in it. Then, a revolution gave birth to modern science.

Part 2: Finding the Center
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 31 at 8 p.m. (Premiere)
Follow the efforts to give Earth a shape and a place. From flat-Earth legends to Galileo’s telescope, track major changes in scientific understanding. Ideas rise and fall as we continue to explore our ancient skies.

Part 3: Our Place in the Universe
On CPTV: Wednesday, August 7 at 8 p.m. (Premiere)
Explore the history of the entire universe with Professor Brian Cox, a chorus of singers and dancers, show tunes, and guest stars Warwick Davis, Noel Fielding, Hannah Waddingham, and Robin Ince in this comedic musical extravaganza.


NOVA – The Planets (5-Part Series)

Part 1: Inner Worlds
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 24 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
The rocky planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars — were born of similar material around the same time, yet only one supports life. Were Earth’s neighbors always so extreme? Is there somewhere else in the solar system where life might flourish?

Part 2: Mars
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 24 at 10 p.m. (Premiere)
Mars was once a blue water world studded with active volcanoes. But when its magnetic field and protective atmosphere faded, it became the frozen desert planet we know today. With so many necessary elements in place, did life ever form on Mars?

Part 3: Jupiter
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 31 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
Jupiter’s massive gravitational force made it a wrecking ball when it barreled through the early solar system. But it also shaped life on Earth, delivering comets laden with water — and perhaps even the fateful asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Part 4: Saturn
On CPTV: Wednesday, August 7 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
(Details to be announced)

Part 5: Ice Worlds
On CPTV: Wednesday, August 14 at 9 p.m. (Premiere)
(Details to be announced)



Legends of Airpower – Eileen Collins
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 30 at 10 p.m.
The young woman from Elmira, N. Y., with dreams of flying became not only the first female instructor pilot, but also the first space shuttle commander. The STS-93 was fortunate to have her as their leader.


Legends of Airpower – Jim Lovell
On CPTV: Tuesday, July 30 10:30 p.m.
He grew up fascinated by rockets, but his family couldn’t afford to send him to the elite schools that taught rocketry. Jim Lovell went instead to the Naval Academy, becoming a fighter pilot before joining the space program. Lovell became a household name when an oxygen tank on Apollo 13 exploded on the way to the moon. But it was his never-say-die attitude that helped bring Lovell and his men back to Earth.


The Farthest – Voyager in Space
On CPTV: Wednesday, July 31 at 10 p.m.
Launched in 1977, NASA’s epic Voyager missions revolutionized our understanding of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and their spectacular moons and rings. In 2012, Voyager 1 left our solar system and ushered humanity into the interstellar age.


To Catch a Comet
On CPTV: Wednesday, August 7 at 10 p.m.
Watch this compelling documentary that details the complexities and challenges of the 10-year, four-million-mile journey of the European Space Agency’s spacecraft Rosetta as it chased down and landed on a comet in a history-making feat.


NOVA – Pluto and Beyond
On CPTV: Wednesday, August 14 at 8 p.m.
Join the mission as the New Horizons spacecraft attempts to fly by NASA’s most distant target yet. Since it explored Pluto in 2015, New Horizons is zooming toward Ultima Thule, an object four billion miles from Earth.