MEGASTRUCTURES

The two giant ships of Sea Launch, a NASA-like mission control and a launch pad floating on the ocean, form part of an audacious, outrageously expensive, multi-national venture for blasting commercial satellites into space. The plus side: it's a very effective way of launching satellites into geosynchronous orbit (allowing the satellite to keep pace with the earth's rotation). The minus side: it cost over a billion dollars, it's never been done before, and it's riddled with challenges. The tale of Sea Launch involves spectacular engineering successes, the launch of the heaviest commercial payload in history (weighing nearly six tons), and a couple of costly failed launches

Opened in December 2004, the Millau Bridge in Southern France is the tallest in the world reaching 1,125ft. This 2.5 kilometer long megastructure is even taller than the Eiffel Tower. The project's vital statistics tell a story of engineering derring-do. The roadway viaduct is cradled by 154 steel stays that look like gigantic cobwebs of steel stretched out from the seven cloud-piercing concrete piers. The top of one of the piers is big enough to hold a tennis court.

An enormous project is underway in the Arabian Gulf that will literally change the face of the coastline. It's so vast it can be seen from space. Large artificial islands are being constructed and fashioned in the shape of massive palm trees. An ambitious engineering feat, it's part of an even bigger plan to transform Dubai into one of the world's premiere tourist destinations. Megastructures tells the story of the race to build this new engineering feat.

THE ULTIMATE VEGAS CASINO explores the incredible building, design, and operation of The Venetian Casino and Resort in Las Vegas - set to be the world's largest hotel in 2006. Mirrored after the canal-laden Italian city, the mega resort is a self-contained city in its own right. From the monumental implosion of the historic Sands Hotel to the digging of onsite canals, we'll see how building masterminds replicated Venice right on the Las Vegas Strip.

Airbus 380 The world's largest passenger plane is under construction and set to take to the skies in 2006. Weighing in at 1.2 million pounds, this MEGA-plane, can seat 555 passengers over two main decks. Building it requires a worldwide mega-factory and a transportation route the likes of which have never been seen before. Will the A380 be the future of aviation or will it be the biggest boondoggle in aviation history?

MegaStructures brings you the newest nuclear sub to prowl the oceans, the USS Virginia. The first major redesign of nuclear subs since the end of the Cold War, the USS Virginia is the most tricked-out underwater warship in the US Navy. Built to answer America's military needs for the 21st century, this sub features a number of forward-looking advances in naval technology. We'll take a hard look at how the USS Virginia came to be as we talk with designers and engineers about the challenges that arose in creating a new class of submarine. We'll also follow the newly commissioned USS Virginia as the Navy brings this marine megastructure up to speed. This show promises to be an exciting ride aboard the newest addition to the Navy's nuclear-powered arsenal.

In the face of powerful natural forces - constant erosion, violent storms, hurricanes, powerful underwater currents and earthquakes - the Golden Gate Bridge was once thought 'impossible to build'. But engineers, designers and construction teams conquered wind speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, and built the Bridge to withstand a potential sway of up to 27 feet. MEGASTRUCTURES: GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE will reveal at a 'nuts & bolts level' how this awesome structure was originally designed and built and how it will survive into the future.

Straddling one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, this is the port of call for a quarter of the world's containers and half the world's supply of oil. Now, imagine if something at this port were to go horribly wrong...

Take a look inside the most ingenious and awe-inspiring structures of all time. From architectural triumphs of ancient times to the cutting edge science and technology behind marvels being built around the world today, MEGASTRUCTURES reveals the methods used and the challenges faced at every stage of design and construction.

In 1953 a killer storm surge floods the Dutch coastline and claims over 1800 lives, inspiring the construction of the biggest, most sophisticated flood defenses on the planet. Costing billions of dollars, the systems of giant concrete and steel sea walls and retractable floodgates include one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. But with sea levels rising across the globe, the fierce North Sea and swelling rivers threaten to breach the defences again and wipe out the Netherlands, a quarter of which lies below sea-level. In response, the Dutch are designing floating houses and roads, even whole cities. Can technology once again ensure their survival?

The Kansai Airport in Japan is considered to be one of the great engineering achievements in the world, second only to the Panama Canal. It is a "State-of-the-Art" facility that handles over a million passengers a week. It has all the operational problems of a normal International Airport, but on top of that it has to contend with typhoons, earthquakes and to top it all off¿ it's sinking! We will go behind the scenes to figure out how this feat of engineering works.

Dateline 1987. Thousands of workers go into action. Their task: to build the world's longest undersea railway tunnel in one of the world's most hostile environments. The Channel Tunnel is an engineering marvel. Yet in the face of financial meltdown; an epic battle with flood; and a near fatal fire, the Tunnel's story is a hard won triumph.

An astounding feat of engineering, the Tau Tona gold mine is the worlds deepest gold mine.Some five thousand people work over three kilometers underground in the mine, which is entirely sustained by an artificial environment.Tau Tona - City of Gold examines the creation of this mining city and how it is able to withstand power outages, earthquakes, and fires.

It is the most famous road in the world-the Autobahn and one of the few places in the world where serious drivers can race luxury cars for seemingly endless stretches of mile after scenic mile¿at eye flattening speeds. The history, technology, and lore surround this modern marvel is truly impressive. Every driver that ever embraced the freedom of the open road owes a nod to Germany, because the modern highway was invented here. The Autobahn (meaning high-speed motorway system) is truly one of a kind.

Visit islands which didn't exist ten years ago. Take a trip to Dubai, the desert city whose incredible man-made islands are becoming a world-renowned tourist attraction.

Oil Mine profiles the Syncrude Company as it grapples with challenges of the present in hope of producing oil that will power our future.

Ultimate Sub deconstructs a mystery machine that few of us have seen up close - and even fewer fully understand. How can a super-size hunk of heavy metal, packed to the gills with fragile humans, dominate an underwater world where the pressure is so intense it could crush you to death in seconds? Focusing on the latest-generation submarine, the USS Texas, as well as other international subs, Ultimate Sub tells the story of this incredible invention. Through exclusive access to training missions, CGI and recreation, we'll show how today's submarines defy the imagination: they dive deeper, are quieter (and deadlier) and are capable of feats that would amaze even science fiction writers. We also investigate what happened in some historic accidents and show how new technologies seek to prevent future calamities.

How would it feel to go from zero to 205 kph in three and a half seconds? Ride the world's fastest roller coaster, Kingda Ka and find out. Located at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park in New Jersey, U.S. this monster thrill ride is also the world's tallest roller coaster, with its highest point at a record-setting 45 stories. In this episode of MegaStructures, find out how workers overcome some of the most difficult engineering and weather challenges to design and construct the world record-breaking ride. Join the designers as they test their creation and follow the entire construction process from its slow and steady start through to its dramatic and heart-racing finish.

Join us behind the scenes, follow organizers and ice sculptors as they race against time and weather to create the world's biggest winter wonderland.

In 2002, Chinese engineers and workers tackled one of the biggest construction projects on Earth. Thirty kilometres out to sea, in the middle of the ocean is the location for Yangshan Deep Water Port. With twenty kilometres of quay and fifty berths, Yangshan is destined to become the biggest deepwater port ever built. Linked to China by the world's second-longest ocean bridge, Yangshan's deep water allows the world's biggest container ships to come calling. Its massive cranes, cutting-edge control system, and focused personnel are already shattering records for loading and unloading gigantic container ships and it's not even finished being built.

What do you get if you take sixty thousand tons of steel, 260,000 cubic meters of concrete, 2000 dedicated Chinese workers and the best design brains in the business? The Shanghai World Financial Center. At 101 floors high it will not only be the tallest building on the Chinese mainland but one that can withstand the toughest challenges Planet Earth can throw at a skyscraper... and even deadlier human threats.

12 years in the making, more than 2500 people have been working on a project that’s intended to become a national icon. The construction of the Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is destined to be the biggest mosque in the United Arab Emirates. The final result is nothing short of spectacular, not only in sheer size, but also in architectural and creative beauty; this is not just a mega structure but an artistic statement on a massive scale.

The Capital Gate building will create an iconic and avant-garde entrance to the city of Abu Dhabi. Leaning at a whopping 18 degrees westward, the tower will claim the Guinness Book of World Records title of Most Inclined Building on Earth. Discover how the engineers and architects overcome the force of gravity, and transform this vision into reality.

Perched 4,000 feet above the Colorado River over the edge of the Grand Canyon, the horseshoe shaped skywalk's glass bridge is one of the most innovative engineering marvels of our time.

The Itaipu Dam is the world's largest hydroelectric power plant and a triumph of giant-scale engineering. Find out how engineers and over forty thousand Brazilian and Paraguayan workers toiled around the clock to create this immense structure. Follow the story as they lay millions of tons of concrete, divert the course of the world's 7th largest river, and relocate thousands of people and animals in order to bring power to millions of people in two countries while overcoming impossible odds and breaking construction and engineering records.

The 450 metre Petronas Towers, the tallest twin towers on the planet, pushed the outer limits of construction technology and stand as a symbol of Malaysian pride and modernity - all in a country that had never built a mega skyscraper before. But building the towers was a construction challenge like no other - at every turn unexpected problems threatened the project. The towers were built in a torrential monsoon belt. The construction site wasn't made of bedrock but unstable sediment, and the towers were not made of lightweight steel but reinforced concrete. The six-year endeavour turned out to be a high-risk showcase project with a hugely ambitious schedule.

The Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America, but how does this mega structure work? Understand the quirks of building and running a super-tall skyscraper by going deep inside this one-of-a-kind structure.

Climb aboard the cargo ship OOCL Atlanta as she journeys from Hong Kong to Singapore. How does a minimal crew keep this 1,000ft-long vessel afloat in treacherous seas?

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge: It's the world's longest suspension bridge - a third longer than any constructed before. Its also the tallest and the most expensive suspension bridge ever built. But it's built in a place where no bridge should be. Japan's Akashi Strait is a deepwater channel beset by typhoons; heavy rain; treacherous currents and to make things worse, it is built in the middle of a major earthquake zone. Midway through construction the bridge was hit by the full force of the Kobe earthquake. Incredibly, construction is only delayed by a month. The bridge has been open and trouble-free for six years. But could it one day fall down?

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. This programme explores the history of NBCI, the lessons that experts have learned from prison disasters of the past, and the astounding technology that will make NBCI one of the largest maximum security prisons in the United States. Examining NBCI's secret control rooms, 200 remote-controlled cameras, impenetrable steel doors, and a sea razor wire, North Branch Correctional Institution reveals the engineering feats that offer new safety from and hope for the most dangerous and desperate criminals.

The world is desperate for oil and gas. But dwindling energy supplies are forcing oil rigs to drill in some of the harshest environments on the globe. It takes a megastructure oil rig, like the Noble Piet, to withstand the fury of nature and keep on drilling. Follow a skilled team of roughnecks as they battle the elements of the North Sea in pursuit of an untapped reservoir of natural gas worth 350 million dollars. But there's a shortage of oil rigs like the Noble Piet. So the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore is designing and building an impressive cluster of 23 rigs at once. Can this shipyard build rigs fast enough to keep up with exploding demand and which will be tough enough to endure the punishment of drilling in the open sea?

Hoover Dam is regarded as an engineering masterpiece and an American icon. But what if it did not exist today? How would engineers build it today?

In Beijing a building like no other has emerged. It is a bold experiment in architecture and a cutting-edge vision of construction eco-engineering. When Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympics the eyes of the world will be riveted on this building. Its official name is the National Aquatics Centre but in the world of mega-architecture it is reverently known as the Water Cube. It's a brilliant fantasia of steel and plastic - a honeycomb of 22,000 steel beams supporting pillows of high tech plastic inflated onto shimmering translucent bubbles. We go behind the scenes to learn more about the vision behind a building destined to become one this century's leading architectural feats.