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Engineering by Catastrophe

2026Series
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What engineers learn when major systems fail

Engineering by Catastrophe explores how disasters change the design of ambitious structures and machines. The National Geographic series links modern projects with earlier failures, asking how engineers identify vulnerabilities before people are put at risk. Its six chapters move across spaceflight, underground construction, flooding, bridges, tall buildings and atomic power.

Above and Beyond looks at NASA's Orion programme through launch, re-entry and emergency protection. Into the Depths follows the Brenner Base Tunnel and Fehmarnbelt link, connecting large underground projects with lessons about construction and travel safety. Each chapter places a present engineering challenge beside the consequences of getting similar decisions wrong.

Designing for extreme forces and changing risks

After the Flood compares underground water management in Tokyo, warning systems in Valencia and storm-surge defences in New Orleans. Bridging the Divide turns to Genoa after the Morandi Bridge collapse and to modern suspension-bridge design in Turkey, including monitoring and protection against extreme forces.

Rise of the Supertalls examines safety changes after the destruction of the World Trade Center. Atomic Power considers lessons from Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island. The recurring subject is institutional learning: how knowledge from a catastrophic failure becomes a different material, monitoring system, standard or design decision.

Episodes

S01 · E01

Above and Beyond

Sending humans into space is perilous. Astronauts endure powerful launches, brutal reentry forces and an environment where small errors cause catastrophe. To prepare Orion for deep space, NASA studies past disasters to shape safer suits, escape systems and materials.

S01 · E02

Into the Depths

Tunnels save time, money, and the environment by providing shortcuts through tough terrain. But they can also be dangerous, especially as today's tunnels grow longer and deeper. Follow the Brenner Base Tunnel and Fehmarnbelt link to explore how engineers use past disasters to make construction and travel safer.

S01 · E03

After the Flood

Flood risks are rising worldwide as storm surges and extreme rainfall overwhelm cities. Tokyo builds vast underground rivers to manage typhoons, while Spain's Valencia floods highlight the need for early warnings. In New Orleans, storm surge barriers were reinvented after America's worst flood disaster.

S01 · E04

Bridging The Divide

S01 · E05

Rise Of The Supertalls

S01 · E06

Nuclear Power

Episode descriptions: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0

Film details

Format
Documentary series
Release year
2026
Premiere date
2026-05-17
Country of production
Great Britain
Language
English
Narrator
Craig Colby
Episode runtime
60 min

Catalogue information: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0