Episode
MegaStructures: Norad (Spy Fortress)
Overview
Examining construction of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in the Colorado mountains. Including the technical challenges it presented.
Details
- Series
- MegaStructures
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 20
- Air date
- 2005-11-08
- Runtime
- 60 min
Episode context
Norad (Spy Fortress) is Episode 20 in Season 2 of MegaStructures. It aired on 2005-11-08. The runtime is 60 min.
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Episode 19: Ultimate Roller Coaster
The episode follows the construction process of the 25 million dollar Kingda Ka Roller Coaster being built by Six Flags. Constructed under secrecy, the 139m tall roller coaster will be the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world when completed, breaking the Dragster’s record. The documentary includes brief comments from Project Engineer, Jeff Glinter, and Chief Corporate Engineer, Larry Chickola. And explains how the Kingda Ka utilises a hydraulic launch system to launch riders to a speed of 206km/h in 3 seconds.
Episode 21: Berlin's Grand Central (Berlin Train Terminal)
Berlin’s new train terminal is designed to be constructed almost entirely out of glass and is being rushed to completion before the World Cup 2006, when millions of soccer fans will be expected to visit Berlin. Megastructures documents the historical feat when two daring teams attempt a feat never before accomplished in construction history; the tipping of two bridges over the roof of the glass station. Already costing 4 billion dollars, almost 5 years in construction delays, over budget, and with the architect suing the developers for cutting corners, will the terminal be ready before the dateline?
More episodes from this season
Episode 18: Ultimate Casino
The Venetian in Las Vegas is the ultimate casino. Dreamed up and owned by Sheldon Adelson, the Venetian replicates the beautiful Venice in Italy. Megastructures looks at how this Las Vegas hotel and casino was built. The documentary includes brief comments from the Venetian's Theme Design Director, Robert Hlusack.
Episode 22: Boston's Big Dig
'National Geographic Channel MegaStructures' takes a look at the construction history of Boston Big Dig project. Costing almost 15 billion dollars and taking almost 20 yrs to complete, the Boston's Big Dig is considered to be the most complex, expensive, and technically challenging civil engineering public works project in the United States. The project was inspired by Fred Salvucci, the Transportation Commissioner to the Mayor of Boston, who wanted to find a solution to the city’s traffic woes. He came up with an idea to link up the major sectors of the city with a system of wide underground tunnels for traffic. Consisting of 4 elements, a tunnel under the harbor, an underground connection to the Interstate 90, an underground traffic system under the city itself to replace the elevated city highway, and a wide cable-stayed bridge to replace the old double-decked bridge. The episode looks at the many obstacles that were faced in the construction, from water leaks to residential protest. The episode also contains brief words from some of the major people involved in the project.
Episode 17: USS Virginia
It is the largest passenger plane ever built and it is a 12 billion dollar investment. The episode documents the history of the Airbus A380, from its design concept, its interior features, the precision manufacturing, the logistics, the final assembly and its final maiden flight.
Episode 23: Ultimate Oil Rigs
The dwindling energy supplies have forced oil companies to set up their oil rigs in some of the harshest environments on the globe. Ultimate Oil Rigs introduces viewers to the Noble Piet, an oil rig built to withstand the fury of the natural elements of the North Sea. The episodes follows the roughnecks as they drill for natural gases deep under the ocean bed. As well as follow the crew of Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore in the designing and building of 23 rigs within 2 years.
Episode 16: World's Biggest Airliner (Airbus A380)
The episode profiles the C-5 Galaxy, one of the largest aircrafts in the world, and the operations of the crew of the mega-plane. The episode includes a look at how the C-5 Galaxy transports military equipment over to the troops in Iraq from America's Dover Air Force Base.
Episode 24: Baikonur Cosmodrome
Explore the Baikonur Cosmodrome, crown jewel of Russia's space program. Trace the glorious history of this megacomplex from the landmark launches of Sputnik and the first cosmonauts to its current status as a gateway to the International Space Station.
Episode 15: North Branch Correctional Institution
The North Branch Correctional Institution (NBCI) will house 2,000 violent criminals. Its security measures are much more than technological marvels they are the features that will protect the lives of prison guards and revolutionize rehabilitation programs for inmates.
Episode 25: Inside Grand Central
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter and intercity railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. The terminal serves commuters traveling on the Metro-North Railroad to Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess counties in New York, as well as to Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut. The terminal also contains a connection to the New York City Subway at Grand Central–42nd Street. Grand Central Terminal has intricate designs both on its inside and outside, lending to its landmark designations, including as a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The terminal is one of the world's most visited tourist attractions, with 21.9 million visitors in 2013.
Episode 14: Mega Plane (Air Force Transport)
Megastructure looks at how one of Dubai's greatest engineering marvel came to be. Examining the Palm-Jumeira Island from it's design to it's method of construction, the documentary also lists the problems faced in it's construction. Like the effects from the September 11 fears to corrosions and weather.
Episode 26: World's Tallest Bridge (Millau Bridge)
It is the world’s tallest bridge, at 343 m tall at its highest pillar, the Millau Viaduct in Southern France is almost a third taller than any other bridge in the world. A freeway in the sky, the bridge crosses the river Tarn in France and can save travelers almost an hour of travel between France and the Mediterranean. It also removes the traffic congestion once faced in the town of Millau. The episode documents the difficulties that the crew had to faced, and the challenging processes that were used in its construction. The documentary contains a few words from the mayor of Millau, Jacques Godfrain, the bridge architect, Norman Foster, and designer, Michel Virlogeux.