SMITHSONIAN CHANNEL(TM) UNVEILS THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO TOOK AMERICA TO THE MOON AND BEYOND IN

"AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES"

NEW SERIES PREMIERING SUNDAY, MAY 14 AT 9 PM ET/PT

NEW YORK, May 1, 2017 - America's conquest of space may be our nation's finest moment. But behind the faces of fearless astronauts like John Glenn and Buzz Aldrin and a crusading president stood an army of unsung heroes and heroines: the engineers, mathematicians, designers and technicians who actually built the machines that put humanity in space. AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES unearths the untold stories of the space program - from the men and woman who created everything from the Saturn V moon rocket to the first successful Mars lander. AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES premieres on Smithsonian Channel on Sunday, May 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

This brand new six-part series explores some of the world's greatest space endeavors through the firsthand accounts of NASA's engineering geniuses. These incredible minds turned science fiction into reality, taking on the job of building rockets, landers, satellites and everything else NASA needed to conquer space. The astronauts won the glory, but AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES reveals the men and women who quietly overcame unprecedented challenges to create the lunar lander, the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, the Hubble Telescope, and the spacecraft that started the march to Mars.

The series premiere AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES: SATURN V tells the story of the engineers who rose to the challenge of Kennedy's once unbelievable dream of launching the first man to the moon. Against all odds, they built humanity's most powerful machine - the Saturn V Rocket. This unprecedented machine paved the way for the first astronauts to land on the moon and for America to win the Space Race within the decade.

Subsequent episodes of AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES include:

AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES: LUNAR MODULE Premieres Sunday, May 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT The year is 1969, and Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong just landed on the moon - in the world's strangest vehicle. It is an astonishing achievement, and it only happened because of the brilliant designers who built the lunar module - one of the most challenging engineering marvels ever conceived. The engineers reveal facts that have never been told on camera before, including a definitive rebuttal to one of the world's best known conspiracy theories - why the American flag planted by Neil and Buzz appears to flutter on the moon.

AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES: SPACE SHUTTLE Premieres Sunday, May 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT The moon was conquered by burning up multimillion-dollar rockets after a single use. NASA has a new goal: a reusable off-planet workhorse they called "The Space Shuttle." Working with a depleted budget - and facing deadly tragedies - the engineers create a versatile space vehicle that flies like a rocket and lands like a plane.

AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES: SPACE STATION Premieres Sunday, June 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT Engineers come together to create the International Space Station, humanity's first permanent outpost in space. Since its construction in 1998, the ISS has grown into the largest space structure ever created. Continuing to expand today, engineers are faced with challenges that seem unreal - like turning urine into drinkable water, and creating a shield against bullet-like micrometeoroids.

AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES: HUBBLE TELESCOPE Premieres Sunday, June 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT One of humanity's most iconic engineering achievements took a true journey from ridicule to redemption. This episode tells the inside story of the Hubble Space Telescope that almost broke NASA. The $2.5 billion telescope started with a fatal defect that left NASA humiliated, as well as a flawed mirror that made the telescope unusable and became the target of popular ridicule. In this episode, the engineers behind its creation tell their story and how they staked their careers on repairing it.

AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES: VIKING MARS MISSION Premieres Sunday, June 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT Fueled by the success from America's first moon landing, NASA upped the stakes by setting its eyes on Mars. Project Viking set out to create a Mars lander with a miniature laboratory designed to travel more than 500 times the distance from Earth to the moon. Its successful landing paved the way for a series of Rovers and the future manned mission to Mars ... in a lander using less computer memory than today's microwave ovens.

AMERICA'S SECRET SPACE HEROES is produced by Arrow International Media and Smithsonian Networks. Ash Potterton is the Executive Producer and Tom Brisley the Creative Director. Tim Evans and David Royle are Executive Producers for Smithsonian Channel.

Smithsonian Channel(TM), owned by Smithsonian Networks(TM), a joint venture between Showtime Networks Inc. and the Smithsonian Institution, is where curiosity lives, inspiration strikes and wonders never cease. This is the place for awe-inspiring stories, powerful documentaries and amazing entertainment across multiple platforms. Smithsonian Channel combines the storytelling prowess of SHOWTIME(R) with the unmatched resources and rich traditions of the Smithsonian, to create award-winning programming that shines new light on popular genres such as air and space, history, science, nature, and pop culture. Among the network's offerings are series including Aerial America, Million Dollar American Princesses, Polar Bear Town, The Weapon Hunter, The Lost Tapes, Mighty Ships, Mighty Planes and Air Disasters, as well as critically-acclaimed specials that include Building Star Trek, The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima, MLK: The Assassination Tapes and The Day Kennedy Died. Smithsonian Networks also operates Smithsonian Earth(TM), through SN Digital LLC., a new subscription video streaming service delivering spectacular original nature and wildlife content. To learn more, go to www.smithsonianchannel.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.