All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S01E06.The.Tesla.Conspiracy.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator: a cold war relic
Rusting away at sea...

It's an environmental disaster
Waiting to happen.

Narrator: ...A remote american
Research lab with a dark past.

Astronauts are guinea pigs.

They're trying to understand
How the human body is affected.

Narrator:
...And a groundbreaking
Nazi project with a sinister
End.

It was all about national pride.

We're going to take the vehicles
And make us leaders

We're going to take the vehicles
And make us leaders

Of the entire known world.

Narrator: once, they were some
Of the most advanced structures

And facilities on the planet,

At the cutting edge
Of design and construction.

Today, they stand abandoned,
Contaminated,

And sometimes deadly.

But who built them?
And how?

And why were they abandoned?

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

Hidden in eastern europe,

In the heart of
The czech republic,

Obscured by dense forests,

Is one of the greatest secrets

From the second world war.

Partially submerged under
The svihov reservoir

Partially submerged under
The svihov reservoir

Is one of the most advanced
Transportation projects

Ever undertaken
During this war-torn period.

It's 330 feet high, 72 feet wide

And is made of reinforced
Concrete.

If you could take away
The millions

Of gallons of water beneath it,

The whole structure
Becomes clear,

But as it is now,
You can't see any of that.

But as it is now,
You can't see any of that.

It's a hidden gem.

Narrator: but why was this
Mysterious bridge built?

And why was it abandoned?

In 1939, hitler's engineers
Are working to develop

A vast new road system

To unite every corner
Of the so-called third reich,

Which includes the entire
Country of czechoslovakia.

And its new freeways,
Known as autobahns,

Reflect the new optimism
Of the country.

Reflect the new optimism
Of the country.

But in order to carry people
And goods from rural areas

Of czechoslovakia
To its capital city, prague,

And on to berlin,

Engineers begin
Constructing this,

The borovsko bridge,

Also known as hitler's bridge.

The bridge, of course,
Was known as hitler's bridge.

It was to form a vital part
Of what was going to be

The central european highway,

And this is really his vision,

And this is really his vision,

Not just of melding together

The disparate parts
Of the empire he's creating,

But also his military use

And the speed with which troops
Can actually move down this road

To whichever part of
The reich is threatened.

Gough: there was undoubtedly
More to hitler's autobahn

Then just getting form a to b.

It was all about national pride.

It was all about, "Wow,
Look at this audacious autobahn

That we're going
To take the vehicles

That are going to communicate
With the reich

That are going to communicate
With the reich

And make us leaders
Of the entire known world."

It was all about dominating.

That's what hitler's
Autobahns were.

Narrator: and its dimensions
Are simply mind-blowing.

The bridge spans
Across the svihov valley

Near the village of borovsko.

It rises to 330 feet in height
With a single arch

Spanning the stream below.

Workers labor constantly
For what's hailed

As the future of engineering.

But then the engineers
Face a problem.

But then the engineers
Face a problem.

To maintain the speed
Of the autobahns,

The new bridge must be built
With a tilted surface.

Not only that, but germany
Demands that this new motorway

And its bridges
Be finished by 1943.

Despite shortages of labor,
Equipment and even cement,

The engineers at borovsko use

The latest techniques
For their bridge.

If you do strip away
All the surroundings,

And you can see the structure
Of the bridge,

And you can see the structure
Of the bridge,

It's a reinforced
Concrete-arch bridge,

Which is a very common
Type of bridge,

But yet this was being
Built in the 1930s.

Especially reinforced concrete
Was not a common used material

For that kind of structure
At this time,

So it just goes to show
How forward-thinking

And how advanced
Czechoslovakia was

In their infrastructure
Technology.

Narrator: but in 1941,
Hitler launches

Narrator: but in 1941,
Hitler launches

An unexpected invasion
Of the soviet union,

And most public works are
Canceled across czechoslovakia.

Thousands of tons of concrete

That were originally
Planned for road

And bridge construction
Are diverted to the war effort

To create vast
Defensive systems.

But because the borovsko bridge
Is so important,

The work here continues.

Here, we're using
A new material in a way

That has real
Structural integrity,

That has real
Structural integrity,

In an arch bridge,

Making intricate shapes,
Intricate forms.

That was groundbreaking.

That was pushing technology
To the boundaries at the time.

Narrator: but then history
Plays its hand.

In may 1942, the hated nazi
Overlord in charge

Of much of
Occupied czechoslovakia,

The so-called blond beast,

Reinhard heydrich,

Is assassinated by members
Of the czech resistance.

Is assassinated by members
Of the czech resistance.

Gough: the assassination
Of reinhard heydrich,

Member of hitler's
Inner circle,

Sent a shockwave into the reich

That they were not invincible.

In fact, they were vulnerable.

Narrator:
All work on the borovsko bridge
Grinds to a halt.

Despite this temporary setback,
Why is this

Engineering marvel flooded?

Engineering marvel flooded?

And why was it abandoned?

*

Narrator:
As part of nazi germany,

The borovsko bridge
In czechoslovakia

Forms a critical junction

For the third reich's vision

Of a vast network of autobahns,

With aims to connect
The four corners of nazi europe.

During world war ii,
Construction of the bridge

Comes to a halt,

And after the war,

Czechoslovakia falls
Under communist rule.

Czechoslovakia falls
Under communist rule.

Though the new leadership
Completes the construction

In 1950, the bridge is
Ultimately scrapped.

So why was the bridge flooded?

With the nearby capital
Of prague growing exponentially,

Czech authorities transform
The sedliacky river

Into a water reservoir in 1976,

Nearly submerging the
Borovsko bridge in its entirety.

Today, hitler's bridge
Lies neglected and abandoned.

Hitler's abandoned bridge
Is a poetic, symbolic testament

To the technology
Of the nazis.

You have this living,
Breathing example

Of nazi architecture, in fact,
Nazi ambition.

It needs to remain
As a reminder and as an example

It needs to remain
As a reminder and as an example

Of what misguided people
Are capable of getting up to.

*

Narrator: 650 miles west,

In the southern english
Port of rochester,

Lies a mysterious submarine.

It's 280 feet long, 20 feet wide

And weighs nearly 2,000 tons.

And weighs nearly 2,000 tons.

Powered by diesel
Electric engines

And capable of firing
22 torpedoes,

This rusting hulk was

Designed to start world war iii.

They looked intimidating.

The sheer numbers
They were churning out...

Wow.

Lambert: these guys
Are forward-looking.

They're adventurous, ambitious,
And the projects

That they end up commissioning,

Once they've made sure
The technology works,

Are really impressive.

Narrator: but how did this
Underwater warrior

End up off the coast of england?

And why was it abandoned?

In the 1950s, cold war tensions
Between the soviet union

And the western powers
Are brewing.

Though both sides are
Stockpiling nuclear weaponry

Though both sides are
Stockpiling nuclear weaponry

For all eyes to see,
Much of the standoff

Is happening below
The surface, literally.

Lambert: when we talk about
The cold war,

We often imagine everybody

Sitting still in a fur coat.

In fact, a very large amount
Is happening.

We know there's a covert
War in the air.

We know the americans
Are spying over russia.

But everybody is
Using submarines

To creep into
Each other's backyards

And do a bit of
Intercept and spying.

The british and the americans
Are spying on the russians.

The russians are trying to pick
Them up and stop them spying.

Narrator: and taking
The next step in espionage,

The soviet union
Constructs this,

The foxtrot-class submarine,

Code name b-39 u-475,

Also known as the black widow.

It forms an integral part
Of the most powerful

Striking arm
Of the soviet fleet.

Lambert: the submarine is,
In many ways, the iconic warship

Of the cold war
Because it's the most active.

Of the cold war
Because it's the most active.

It's the one you can use
Without leaving a visible trace.

Narrator: also invisible to
The allied forces,

The foxtrot submarines

Are carrying torpedoes armed
With nuclear warheads.

To power these
Terrifying vessels,

The soviets rely
On tested technology.

While the us and british navies
Use all nuclear-powered

Submarine forces,

The ussr used traditional
Diesel electric boats.

The ussr used traditional
Diesel electric boats.

Bell: the soviets approach
To their submarine warfare

Was very much a case of,

"If it ain't broke,
Don't fix it."

The soviet kept their diesel
Power because it did the job.

They got to where
They needed to be,

Albeit not at the greatest
Level of comfort at all.

You'd be so cramped
Down inside these machines

With these three great big
Locomotive diesel engines

Going off 24/7, all the time.

The noise and the smells must
Have just been awful down there.

The noise and the smells must
Have just been awful down there.

Gough: many have wondered why
The ussr kept building

This outdated technology
Right up until the 1980s,

This foxtrot class of subs.

You know, surely there's
New technology

They could bring to bear.

There is, but they have
A manufacturing line

That's just churning out
Quantity over quality,

And that's what
It's all about.

They're using what they know
Because it's all about numbers.

Sure, they can innovate,
But why would you change

Sure, they can innovate,
But why would you change

When you've got
A good thing going?

Narrator:
But there's a problem with
This technological approach.

Conventional
Diesel-powered submarines

Like this one typically
Can't stay underwater

For much longer
Than a few days.

Gough: they were so
Claustrophobic.

You had one bathroom,
Two showers, 74 men.

You can imagine,
After a few days,

How disgusting that is.

I mean, it's a miracle they can
Make these long journeys

I mean, it's a miracle they can
Make these long journeys

Across the atlantic at all.

It mystifies me.

Narrator: will the soviet
Strategy of low-tech propulsion

And high-tech firepower work?

And why was this cold war
Relic abandoned?

Narrator: disused and abandoned
In the waters

Of rochester in kent in england

Lies a russian u-class submarine
Known as the black widow.

As the foil to western
Submarine espionage,

The nuclear black widow forms

A major part
Of the soviet fleet.

It carries up to 22 torpedoes,

It carries up to 22 torpedoes,

Two of which are armed
With nuclear warheads.

The soviets give this fleet
Of submarines one aim:

To serve on the front lines
Of world war iii.

But this terrifying ambition

Comes at a cost for the crew.

Bell: being on board
A soviet submarine at that time

Was not a pleasant experience.

Was not a pleasant experience.

And I say "On board."

When you say "On board,"
You kind of think,

"Oh, on board a ship,

And there's space
Around you and everything."

A submarine is not like that.
It's very different.

You are inside the machine.

It's not like there are
Mechanical quarters

And the living quarters.

It's all one thing.

And you're down there
With a crew,

74 crewmen you might have
On these soviet subs,

With constant noise,
A lack of fresh air,

Very limited amounts
Of fresh and clean water.

Very limited amounts
Of fresh and clean water.

Just how cramped you would be.

Bell: your personal space
Wouldn't be very much

More than the immediate
Space around you.

It's no wonder that after
A certain amount of time,

That would start to get to you,

And you might start to just
Lose your mind a little bit.

Your judgment might
Not be as clear,

And you'd be extremely stressed.

And you'd be extremely stressed.

These were the conditions
That those soviet crewmen

Were in for weeks on end,

Being submerged
For 2 days at a time.

But even when they did come up

To get their
Batteries recharged,

It's not like you could
Come up for fresh air

And be out on deck.

You're still stuck
Inside this machine.

Narrator: this weakness plays
A crucial role in 1962

When four of these
Soviet submarines

Confront the us navy
During the cuban missile crisis.

Confront the us navy
During the cuban missile crisis.

*

During the cuban missile crisis,
The soviet submarines

That are in the caribbean
Are foxtrot-class boats.

The americans do not pick up

All of the foxtrots
That are out in the atlantic.

They pick up two and forced them
To surface by basically

Sitting over the top of them

Until they'd run out
Of breathable air.

Until they'd run out
Of breathable air.

But the other two managed
To sneak through.

Narrator:
But unknown to the us forces,
The remaining two foxtrots

Are carrying torpedoes armed
With nuclear warheads.

People don't realize just how
Close we came to world war iii

During the cuban missile crisis.

The us was dropping
Depth charges,

Testing out their capability
Onto russian subs down below.

Now, these russian subs had been
In the water for a long time.

Now, these russian subs had been
In the water for a long time.

One of them in particular
Was captained by a chap who...

He was was
Just starting to lose it.

He's been down under the ocean
For way too long.

He's been down under the ocean
For way too long.

He thinks world war iii
Must have started,

So he goes to press the button

To send a nuclear warhead
To the u.S. Naval ships.

And his colleague says,
"No, hang on, you can't do that.

You can't do that. Stop."

So if there ever was
An unsung hero,

It would have to be that guy

Who stopped his commander
From starting world war iii.

Narrator: these two submarines
Evade american capture

And make it to cuba.

And for nearly 30 more years,
Foxtrot submarines

And for nearly 30 more years,
Foxtrot submarines

Continue stalking
International waters

To spy on western countries.

But with the collapse of
The soviet union,

Hundreds of unwanted warships

Begin clogging
The shipbreaking yards

Across the world,

Creating a different
Kind of catastrophe.

And eventually moored
In riga, latvia,

The black widow lies among them.

These have to be
Disposed of properly,

These have to be
Disposed of properly,

In a very thoughtful way.

Otherwise, it's an environmental
Disaster waiting to happen.

Yes, it might cost more than
Just taking it to a scrap heap

And chopping it up
And being done with it,

But, otherwise,
The cost to the environment

And to the earth, who knows
Where that could go?

Narrator:
So why is the soviet black widow
U-boat in rochester, england?

And why was it
Finally abandoned?

And why was it
Finally abandoned?

Narrator: the soviet navy's
B-39 u-475 submarine,

Also known as the black widow,

Served as a front-line
Marine deterrent,

Armed with nuclear torpedoes.

But with the collapse of
The soviet union in 1989,

This decaying
Nuclear submarine poses

A huge environmental problem

Due to its radioactive
Contamination.

Due to its radioactive
Contamination.

Simply leaving the black widow
To rot,

Unmaintained in riga, latvia,
Is not an option.

You have to remember
That the russian submarine

Is one of the more dangerous
Instruments of the cold war.

The first russian nuclear
Submarine

Killed most of its own crew

And, of course, famously killed
All of its crew.

The russians were able to build
And operate these vessels,

But their safety standards
Were not always as high

As they might have been,

And the soviets and, later,

The russians were quite happy
To cover these things up as far

As they could get away with it.

So going to sea
In a russian submarine

Is not really a very
Attractive proposition.

Narrator:
In 1994, the black widow
Is officially decommissioned

By the russian navy

And sold to a private
Collector in britain

Who maintains it
And turns it into a museum.

Today, this hulking cold war
Relic lies empty,

Today, this hulking cold war
Relic lies empty,

Rusted and abandoned
In rochester,

Forming a floating reminder

Of a much more treacherous age.

*

3,500 miles away
Across the atlantic ocean

Are the lingering traces
Of a grand plan

To revolutionize life on earth.

Obscured by trees in the suburbs
Of long island, new york

Lies the remains
Of a new and bold system

With groundbreaking designs

To power the entire planet.

The complex spreads
Across 16 acres,

Contains dozens of workshops

And has a wood-framed
187-feet tall,

90-feet-wide tower,
Weighing 65 tons,

Topped with a hemispherical
Copper dome,

Topped with a hemispherical
Copper dome,

Weighing an additional 50 tons.

But who built this
Giant structure?

And why was it abandoned?

At the end of the 19th century,
Gas-based power

Is the norm in america,

But industrialists
Are looking for a safer

And more effective method
To illuminate cities

And power homes:
With electricity.

And power homes:
With electricity.

But one scientist has
An even bigger aim:

To create enough electricity
To run america.

Today, we take
Electricity for granted.

At the turn of the 19th century,
It was the new black.

It was full of wonder.

It was a cure-all
For almost anything,

And its potential was limitless.

Narrator:
And powering this ambition

Is the revolutionary
Wardenclyffe tower.

Is the revolutionary
Wardenclyffe tower.

Built in 1901,
Its cutting-edge purpose

Is to harness
The power of wireless

Electrical transmission.

This is a time of power
And electricity

And all this sort of science,

Which is the way it
Should have been done,

Is seen almost in a sort of
Magical aspect, right?

And they used to put on big
Shows to promote this.

There's huge amounts
Of propaganda, in the same way

That you see that a magician
Would do like that.

That you see that a magician
Would do like that.

They were treated
In that sort of way.

Narrator: inside
Wardenclyffe today

Lies what's left of a ruined

And vandalized
Laboratory building.

People come from all
Over the world

To explore these damp corridors

And to look for clues
Of what happened here.

During the early years
Of the 20th century,

These ominous
Halls inspire rumors

About mysterious experiments

And only partially veiled
Strange flashing lights

And only partially veiled
Strange flashing lights

As well as the reclusive
Figure who works here,

The half-genius,
Half-mad-scientist

Nikola tesla.

Tesla was a unique man.

He was very private.

He worked all the time.

He was obsessed with inventing.

I think he wanted
To help the world.

He wanted to do things that
Would benefit all of humanity.

He wanted to do things that
Would benefit all of humanity.

Narrator: the scale of tesla's
Vision is tremendous,

And that's just from
His plans at wardenclyffe.

The groundbreaking facility
Requires a kind of engineering

That's never been
Attempted before.

We're standing on the base
Of the tesla tower,

A 187-foot-high tower
Erected with wooden beams.

And the thing on top,
A big round copper hemisphere

And the thing on top,
A big round copper hemisphere

Was really a capacitor
To hold voltage.

He'd charge it to as much
As he could, millions of volts,

So high that he would
Go beyond the capacity

And it would spark,
Send out bolts of lightning.

[ electricity crackling ]

Narrator: this unique capacitor

Becomes tesla's
Best-known invention,

Used in dozens
Of experiments.

Its intent is to unleash
A stream of electricity

Its intent is to unleash
A stream of electricity

Straight down into the earth

And into a special
Underground chamber.

From there, the electricity
Is designed to travel

Along radiating tunnels

And out into the earth's crust.

What he was trying to do
With this

Was develop power transmission

And wireless power

Because those tesla coils
Are actually great at creating

And sending radio waves

Or any sort of
Electromagnetic waves.

Or any sort of
Electromagnetic waves.

Bagget: and he believed
That he could set up

A standing wave
Of electric potential

Within the crust
Of the earth.

A standing wave, that's like
A wave on a string attached

To a jump rope.

You move it just right,
You got a standing wave

That doesn't travel.

And all around the earth
Would be these peaks

And valleys of voltage.

If you could tap into them,
You could pick up power

Or maybe information.

If you modulated the wave,
You send information.

If you modulated the wave,
You send information.

I think that sort of vision of,
You know,

Creating power
And distributing it

Out through a network,

That's something that
We have taken on board.

Now, maybe not
Directly from tesla,

But it's another case of that's

What needed to happen
To transform the world.

Narrator:
But does tesla's incredible
Invention actually work?

And why was it
Finally abandoned?

*

Narrator: in 1901, nikola tesla
Builds a huge 187-foot tower

With support buildings
At wardenclyffe on long island,

Just 60 miles east
Of new york city.

For 5 years, he tries
To create free electricity

For all of america
Using huge towers

And transmitted around
The country wirelessly.

But powerful forces
Are mobilizing

Against tesla's bold plans.

And his decision to opt
For alternating current

Instead of direct current

For his electricity
Brings him into conflict

With another industrial pioneer:

Thomas edison.

Edison had direct current,
Dc, and tesla has

His alternating current, an ac.

And there was a bitter rivalry
Between them,

A real war between
These two people.

A real war between
These two people.

And edison was just
A better marketer than tesla.

Tesla was very focused
On science, on the possibilities

And even thinking way,
Way ahead into the future.

Like, "This is how
We change the world."

The thing with the alternating
Current is that it was

So much more useful
For transmitting power.

The dc current, that's
Essentially what we use...

We only use that
In batteries now.

That's all we use
Dc currents for.

Power stations, it's so much
Easier to generate power

Power stations, it's so much
Easier to generate power

In ac in huge quantities.

It's so much easier to transmit
That power over power lines.

And even tesla was
Starting to talk about

What we are now
Trying to develop,

Which is wireless power.

Narrator: despite
The technical superiority

Of alternating current,

Tesla becomes
His own worst enemy

In his rivalry with edison.

His secretive experiments
And obsessive behavior

Make it easy for the press
To portray him as an oddity.

Make it easy for the press
To portray him as an oddity.

This frightens tesla's main
Financial backer,

The leading
Financier, j.P. Morgan.

And subsequently, he pulls his
Investment out

Of the wardenclyffe
Project in 1906.

Tesla has no choice but
To abandon the whole enterprise.

Archer: edison was able
To smear him.

He put on shows to
Show the dangers

Of alternating current

Electrocuting elephants

To shock people
Into thinking,

To shock people
Into thinking,

"No, dc's the way to go.

It's safer,"
And all that sort of stuff.

So, you know, tesla sunk
Into depression.

He got ill.

He died a very poor man,
Unfortunately,

Because, as we know

From after his death,
It was him that was right.

He had the right track
With alternating current.

He even, perhaps, they think,
Came up with radio

Before marconi ever
Really did any of that.

So tesla, whilst being right,
Unfortunately,

Was not appreciated
In his time.

Was not appreciated
In his time.

Narrator: even the giant tower
Must be demolished for scrap

To help pay off tesla's debts,

Leaving nothing but

A giant octagon-shaped
Footprint in its wake.

Today, all that remains
Of tesla's shattered dreams

Are a few support
Buildings

And the empty foundation

Of his iconic tower
At wardenclyffe.

Nikola tesla claimed
To have come very close

Nikola tesla claimed
To have come very close

To providing the earth

And its people
With free electricity,

Only to be beaten
By j.P. Morgan and the banks,

Who were dead set
Against his plans and instead,

Charge handsomely today
For this utility.

Gough: the really
Disappointing thing

About the wardenclyffe
Tower project

Is that it was halted halfway
Through due to,

Allegedly, lack of funding.
Really?

J.P. Morgan's your backer,
And he doesn't have money?

Or is it possibly because tesla
Is creating free energy

That nobody can make
Any money off of?

I think we need to look
At that quite carefully.

*

Narrator: 2,500 miles away,

High in the white mountains
Of california,

Is an ominous facility

With its eyes
Set firmly on the stars.

12,760 feet up
On the barcroft plateau

Lies a decrepit research station

With numerous science labs,

Observatories and living spaces
For up to 25 people.

This remote station's focus was,
Quite literally,

Out of this world.

But who built this facility?

And why was it abandoned?

*

In the 1950s,
The space race is on.

With the soviet union gaining
The upper hand in practically

All matters
Beyond earth,

The united states
Founds nasa in 1958.

To gain its first
Human toehold in space,

Nasa must gather sensitive

But crucial information

But crucial information

About the perils
Of space travel.

And to do it, they use
This secretive location,

The barcroft station.

It was incredibly important
In developing space travel.

Narrator: in the early 1950s,
Barcroft station

Is a classified research
Facility run by the us navy,

But with a backing
From nasa,

The university of california

Take it over
And convert barcroft

Into a space research facility

Into a space research facility

With grand ambitions:

To launch humans
Into outer space

And return them safely.

However, this big aim
Of the space program

Must start smaller,

Employing a unique
Colony, but not human.

This was built in 1951,
And they started gathering

Meteorological data
At that point

And started raising
Laboratory animals up here.

And started raising
Laboratory animals up here.

They started studying
The chimpanzees' physiology

Because they were planning

To send chimps up into space
Before they sent humans.

And so they needed to understand
About chimp physiology

And also develop
Monitoring devices,

So they could monitor the health
And condition of the chimps

While they were up in space.

Narrator: the test animals
Are chosen to be

The first creatures in america

To fly into space and test

To fly into space and test

Whether it's safe
For humans to fly.

This is an authentic relic
From the early '60s

From the period

When we were training chimps

And macaques to go
Into outer space.

This is a 55-gallon drum
That's been fitted out

With a little plexiglas seat,

And it's a space
Capsule simulator.

And it's a space
Capsule simulator.

It's got insulation
On the outside.

It's fitted with catheters,

Which were surgically
Implanted in the animals,

And this was for them
To get accustomed

To what they'd be doing
In outer space.

Narrator: with the test animals
Sealed inside them,

Barrel capsules are suspended
Beneath a helicopter

And flown to barcroft station.

This exercise begins
An extended series

Of experiments to record
Physical responses

Of experiments to record
Physical responses

To stress and changes
In atmospheric pressure.

We're now in the ground
Floor of barcroft station.

In the '60s, the ground
Floor had animal colonies.

They had chimps
And macaques here,

And they studied
The physiology of these animals.

And they developed
Telemetry devices to monitor

And they developed
Telemetry devices to monitor

Their conditions of their bodies
And their health.

Here, they could look
At the effects of high elevation

On the animals.

They would train them
To some extent,

Get them accustomed to sitting
In the little chairs

Because when they put them
In the space capsules,

They were confined.

You can train the animals to do
Things that are more similar

To what humans
Might do in space,

Press buttons,
Pull levers and so on.

And it also means that you can
Gather data that helps you

And it also means that you can
Gather data that helps you

With the design of the cabin

That you will ultimately use

To put humans into space.

Narrator:
But what will the efforts
Of these brave pioneers reveal?

And why was this
Unique program abandoned?

*

Narrator: to catch up
To the soviet union's

Breakthroughs in space

And its iconic 1957 launch
Of laika the dog,

The barcroft research station
In california

Develops its own animal
Astronauts for nasa

Throughout the '60s.

Different countries
Sent up different animals,

Sometimes for
Obvious reasons,

Sometimes for less
Obvious reasons.

For example, if you wanted
To send animals up,

For example, if you wanted
To send animals up,

And you knew they weren't
Going to come back,

You might send
Something like mice.

But, of course, you want
To do experiments

On larger animals, too.

And in sputnik 2, the soviets
Sent up the dog, laika.

And they had a policy where
They took dogs off the streets.

The idea was that you
Would take animals

That were used to
Living a harsh life,

Lack of food,
Lack of water

And therefore
Would be better adapted

To the kind of experiments
That they wanted to test.

Narrator: but it's not just
Against the soviets

Narrator: but it's not just
Against the soviets

That the efforts at barcroft

Must remain under wraps.

Imagine the scene.

It's the 1960s,
The summer of love.

How many americans realize
That monkeys are being taken up

To a 14,000-foot-high mountain,

Experimented with so

That they could
Get an advantage

About how to launch
A space program?

I think if they knew that,

They actually would have
Been horrified.

Green: using animals, sadly,
Was a very valuable step

Towards getting humans
Into space.

Towards getting humans
Into space.

You simply couldn't avoid
Doing these kind of experiments.

If you want to test the effect

Of very high
Acceleration forces,

You can do that on animals.

If you want to test
What harsh landings are like,

You can do that on animals.

And, indeed, they did.

Even though there was knowledge
About humans at high altitudes,

What they didn't have
At that point was knowledge

About how the human body
Responded

In a weightless environment.

So those kind of experiments,
You can conduct on animals.

So those kind of experiments,
You can conduct on animals.

And, of course,
You do want to do that

Before you conduct
Them on humans.

Narrator:
This sad but crucial step
Gives the scientists at barcroft

The data they need to help
Prepare american astronauts

For their first steps
Into space.

Archer: you can simulate
Temperature changes.

You can put people
In centrifuges

To experience high g's
Like in a rocket take-off,

But you can't do everything.

We realize that, even today.

That's why we're still
Doing experiments

At the international
Space station.

At the international
Space station.

Astronauts are guinea pigs,
In that regard.

We're trying to understand
How the human body is affected

By weightless environment,

How space radiation
Affects us.

We are still finding our way
With a lot of these things.

Narrator: in the end,
Over a dozen creatures are

Successfully launched
Into space.

The knowledge gained
From their heroic efforts

Becomes invaluable
To the human pilots

Of the mercury
And apollo programs.

With this stellar success,
Nasa and the university

Of california eventually suspend
Their animal research.

Of california eventually suspend
Their animal research.

Today, the barcroft station
Lies abandoned

In the mountains
Of california,

A potent reminder
Of just what it takes

And the sacrifices
Made for humanity's quest

For the stars.