National Geographic : Megastructures




U.S.S. Ronald Reagan
Meet the United States Navy's newest monster of the sea. Powered by two nuclear reactors, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan can operate for 20 years without refueling. Learn what went into this feat of engineering, and discover what life is like for the 6,000 inhabitants on board.

link: Megastructures.01.USS.Ronald.Reagan.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.81 Mb]




Sears Tower
Meet the people who make the tallest building in North America come alive. Take a wild ride inside the elevator shafts of the Sears Tower. Then, climb inside its towering antennae, and get a window-washer's view of Chicago.

link: Megastructures.02.Sears.Tower.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.77 Mb]




Kansai International Airport
Japan's Kansai Airport is one of the greatest engineering achievements in the world, but it was built on a man-made island the size of Monaco and now the island is sinking.

link: Megastructures.04.Kansai.Airport.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [350.14 Mb]




Autobahn
The Autobahn is nearly 7,300 miles (11,750 km) long, enough to cross the United States twice. But it's all packed into an area roughly the size of Montana! Discover what it takes to build, operate, and drive the world's greatest super highway.

link: Megastructures.05.Autobahn.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [350.09 Mb]




Itaipú Dam
Itaipu Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power plant, is a triumph of giant-scale engineering. Learn how forty thousand construction workers diverted the world's 7th largest river.

link: Megastructures.06.Itaipu.Dam.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [350.04 Mb]




Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is the world's longest single-span suspension bridge. But during construction in 1995, it was rocked by an earthquake in Kobe, Japan. The bridge withstood the quake, but the question remains—could it one day collapse?

link: Megastructures.07.Akashi.Kaikyo.Bridge.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.80 Mb]




Petronas Towers
The 450-meter 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. But building the towers was a construction challenge like no other and the six-year endeavor turned out to be a high-risk project with a hugely ambitious schedule.

link: Megastructures.08.Petronas.Towers.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.91 Mb]


Golden Gate Bridge
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.

link: Megastructures.09.Golden.Gate.Bridge.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [350.09 Mb]


North Sea Wall
The construction of this colossal hydraulic-powered moveable barrier is one of the greatest feats of civil engineering in history. Three sandbars were built up into islands to accommodate harbours, material yards and work sites. A dam connected two of the islands, effectively creating three channels in the estuaries; each protected by a section of the barrier. Described by the American Society of Civil Engineers as "One of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World", the North Sea Wall has conquered the elements and defied the oceans.

link: Megastructures.10.North.Sea.Wall.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.88 Mb]


World's Busiest Port
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...

link: Megastructures.11.Worlds.Busiest.Port.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.69 Mb]


Tau Tona City Of Gold
Tau Tona is an astounding feat of engineering- the deepest, largest gold mine on earth. Thirty five thousand people work in the mine three miles below the surface of the earth. It is an entirely artificial environment with its own weather system. The engineering equipment and massive mining vehicles are some of the largest and most unusual used anywhere on the planet.

link: Megastructures.12.Tau.Tona.City.of.Gold.DivX-NewWorld.avi  [349.76 Mb]


Oasis
The world's tallest hotel, the highest water slide outside North America, and a Venice carved from the shores of the Persian Gulf--all are part of tiny Dubai's farsighted attempt to prepare for the day the oil runs out. This cash-rich sheikdom, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, was once known for the largest artificial harbor in the world. Today its leaders are engineering, in every sense of the word, a vacation Mecca for businessmen and tourists. Already, the Burj-Al-Arab hotel on its own man-made island with its striking sail façade and two-story suites is considered the world's only seven-star hotel. Next door the Wild Wadi Water Park is a quintessential oasis in the desert, thanks to desalination. And everywhere, modernity is fast encroaching on a society where men still wear the traditional dishdashah and prayers to Allah air throughout the streets.

link: Nationa.Geographic.Megastructures.Oasis.Dubai.Burj.al.Arab.Hotel.wmv  [461.72 Mb]

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Queen mary 2

Tonight’s episode looks at the colossal RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) superliner – the longest, tallest and broadest ship ever built at the time of its completion in 2003.

The Queen Mary 2 was designed to reinvigorate the world of ocean cruise liners, which had been almost killed off by the advent of commercial transatlantic flights in 1958. This £500 million ‘city at sea’ was built to replace its predecessor, the Queen Elizabeth 2, on the 3,000 mile Southampton-New York route.

The man behind the project was billionaire Micky Arison, who first dreamt of building a new ship when the 1997 film ‘Titanic’ inspired a wave of nostalgia for ocean liners. Arison bought the world-famous Cunard line and drew up plans to replace the QE2 before her retirement in 2004. This gave engineers only two years to complete the new vessel. For naval architect Stephen Payne, the QM2 was a dream job: “It was such a mind-blowing, mind-boggling project to be involved in,” he says.

The shipyard at St Nazarie, France, was chosen to build the new liner. From the very beginning, the QM2 would be unlike any ship before it: in order to recoup its costs, the liner would have to accommodate 2,000 people and be capable of crossing the Atlantic in just six days, with a tenhour turnaround prior to making its return voyage. To this end, the ship would have to be bigger and faster than its predecessors.

Stephen Payne’s first challenge was to satisfy Micky Arison’s demand that at least half the cabins have balconies – an unprecedented number for a liner. The ship could not be made too tall, as it risked collapsing, so Payne’s answer was to make it wider than originally planned. This meant that the QM2 would not be able to pass through the Panama canal. Any future round-theworld cruise would have to take a 9,000-mile detour around South America.

Next, Payne worked on measures to counter “rogue waves” in the Atlantic, which can reach a height of three storeys. Oceanographer Simon Boxall explains the threat that the Atlantic’s rough waters pose: “Rogue waves are more than capable of sending a ship to the sea floor in a matter of minutes,” he says. The solution included a special bow with a breakwater shield.

The propulsion of the mammoth vessel represented another formidable challenge. In order to meet its tight six-day schedule, the QM2 had to reach a speed of 30 knots. This was achieved through the use of five diesel engines and a pair of gas turbines similar to aircraft engines on the top of the ship.

With time of the essence, the ship was built in sections and fitted together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Onto the body of the craft were attached the funnel, stabilising fins, side thrusters and, finally, four innovative “pods” – enormous propellers that steer the ship in close quarters. “We can turn this ship around on a pinhead – just incredible!” the ship’s captain, Ronald Warwick, says.

With the bulk of the vessel completed, work began on the ship’s opulent interior, including a ballroom, library, theatre, art gallery, casino and even a planetarium. Despite serious setbacks in the final stages of the project – including the deaths of 16 people in a gangway collapse – the completed Queen Mary 2 was delivered on time to a rapturous welcome. This leviathan has set the standard for all ocean liners to come, representing the epitome of luxury and state-ofthe- art design.

Megastructures.Queen.Mary.2.SuperLiner.avi  [548.23 Mb]




World Island's

The same company that brought us The Palm Islands, Al Nakheel Properties (Nakheel Corp), have done it again expanding their portfolio of man-made islands with this latest Dubai island project shaped like the continents of the world. The World will consist of between 250 to 300 smaller private artifical islands divided into four categories - private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. Each island will range from 250,000 to 900,000 square feet in size, with 50 to 100 metres of water between each island. The development is to cover an area of 9 kilometers in length and 6 kilometers in width, surrounded by an oval shaped breakwater. The only means of transportation between the islands will be by marine transport.

Construction has begun on the $US 1.8 billion project which is set to be completed by the end of 2005. It will be located 4 kilometers off the shore of Jumeirah, close to the The Palm Jumeirah, between Burj Al Arab and Port Rashid of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Each island will be sold to selected private developers and are expected to have pricing beginning at Dhs. 25 million (US$ 6.85 million).




Megastructures.Dubai.World.Islands.avi  [459.92 Mb]

Petronas Towers

Designed by Cesar Pelli, the Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world on the date of its completion.

Located in Kuala Lumpur, the design of the 88 storey, 450m tall twin towers, carries an Islamic geometrical influence. The towers are a symbol of Malaysia’s pride.

To instill competition, the contract for the construction of the towers were awarded to two different construction companies, each company was assigned to work on one of the towers.

This episode takes a look at how the construction companies competed to complete their tower before the other. Problems faced, from the soil samples, the unique cement mixture used as a steel substitute, to the tropical weather, are covered.




Megastructures.Petronas.Towers.avi  [653.76 Mb]

Hoover Dam

It took five years to build. When completed in 1936, Hoover Dam was among the world’s largest hydroelectric facilities. Today, it generates power for 1.3 million people. An astonishing 660 feet thick at its base, the reservoir can store two years of the Colorado River's average water flow.



MegaStructures.Hoover.Dam.avi  [378.82 Mb]

America's Biggest Dig

How do you build a state-of-the-art interstate highway system under one of the busiest cities in America? Get inside Boston's Big Dig, one of the largest, most complex and technologically ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken. Watch as one of America's oldest cities becomes one of the world's most modern.



Megastructures.Americas.Big.Dig.avi  [314.95 Mb]

The World's Busiest Port

A third of the world's trade and half the world's oil supply passes through the Port of Singapore, the busiest port on Earth. But the waters around the port have become nests for tech-savvy pirates. How does this megastructure protect its shipping lanes—and our worldly goods?



Megastructures.The.Worlds.Busiest.Port.avi  [327.61 Mb]

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Sea Launch

Science, Technology Documentary narrated by Tom Goodman-Hill and published by National Geographic broadcasted as part of Megastructures series in 2008 - English narration



Information
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The two giant ships of Sea Launch, a NASA-like mission control and a launch pad floating on the ocean, form part of an outrageously expensive, multi-national venture for blasting commercial satellites into space. It's a story of spectacular engineering successes, and a couple of costly failed launches.

A satellite delivered by a rocket that is launched from the earth’s equator instead of any other place, can have its lifespan extended for as much as 3 years. This would mean huge savings for the companies that own these satellites. Thus the Sea Launch was constructed. The Sea Launch is made up of 2 megastructures, a floating launch pad called the Odyssey and a shipping vessel called the Commander. The episode gives a brief history of the construction, the successes and the failures of the Sea Launch.

Screenshots
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Technical Specs
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* Filesize.....: 365,365,248 bytes
* Runtime......: 49:59.960 (74999 frames)
* Video Codec..: XviD 1.0.3
* Video Bitrate: 841 kbps
* Aspect Ratio.: 608x352
* Framerate....: 25.000 fps
* B-VOP/NVOP...: B-VOP /
* QPel/GMC.....: /
* Audio Codec..: 0x0055 MPEG-1 Layer 3
* Audio Bitrate: 130kbps 2ch VBR 48000Hz
* Language.....: English
* Subtitles....: None

Links
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1) Related Documentaries
* International Space Station
* Space Launch: Along for the Ride
* The Universe
* The Cosmos - A Beginner's Guide
* The Planets
* The Red Stuff
* Space Station and Beyond
* The Satellite Story
* HIIA Space Rocket
* Space Travel
* Space Tourists


2) ed2k Links
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Sea.Launch.HDTV.XviD-TVA.avi  [348.44 Mb]



Source: http://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Sea_Launch


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Posted on behalf of DocoDonkey

Megastructures.Dubais.Dream.Palace.HDTV.XviD-TVA








Megastructures.Dubais.Dream.Palace.HDTV.XviD-TVA.avi  [349.13 Mb]

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Megastructures.Millau.Bridge.HDTV.XviD-TVA.avi

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.








Megastructures.Millau.Bridge.HDTV.XviD-TVA.avi  [347.83 Mb]

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Megastructures.Deep.Ocean.Port.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP






Megastructures.Deep.Ocean.Port.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP.avi  [349.23 Mb]

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Megastructures.Garbage.Mountain.WS.PDTV.XviD-REViSiON




NGC steps into the world of garbage in California's Puente Hills landfill, America's biggest landfill, to uncover the inner-workings at LA's filthiest suburb.



Megastructures.Garbage.Mountain.WS.PDTV.XviD-REViSiON.avi  [347.83 Mb]

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Megastructures.Ice.Hotel.WS.PDTV.XviD-G4L






Megastructures.Ice.Hotel.WS.PDTV.XviD-G4L.avi  [349.36 Mb]

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Megastructures.South.Pole.Station.PDTV.XviD-TBS






Megastructures.South.Pole.Station.PDTV.XviD-TBS.avi  [349.77 Mb]

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Megastructures.Super.Pipeline.PDTV.XviD-AERiAL






Megastructures.Super.Pipeline.PDTV.XviD-AERiAL.avi  [345.68 Mb]

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Megastructures: Oil Mine
Original Airdate: June 29, 2005
Just beneath the surface of Canada's Alberta forest sits the largest oil reserve in the world. Mother Nature has thrown a curveball though—the oil can't be pumped because it's trapped in sand, and extracting it is already causing major environmental impacts. Watch as multiple companies race to develop technologies to unlock the vast oil and profit hidden below Canada's forests.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Ultimate.Oil.Sands.Mine.HDTV.XviD-TVA.avi  [346.38 Mb]

Megastructures: Beijing Olympic Stadium
You can't host the Olympics without a world-class facility and, for 2008, China's gearing up to do the honours by building one of the world's largest enclosed facilities - the Beijing National Stadium. 42,000 tons of twisted steel and a stadium to seat 90,000 people - one of the biggest and most ambitious constructions projects ever attempted in modern China. Against the backdrop of China's rush to the Olympics, examine the unique features of the "bird's nest" stadium, following its design, engineering and construction up until the ultimate test, where Games organisers will find out if this ambitious project is ready in time for the Opening Ceremony of the XXIX Olympiad.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Beijing.Olympic.Stadium.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP.avi  [349.31 Mb]

Megastructures: Beijing Water Cube
Just in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, workers are feverishly putting the finishing touches on the National Aquatics Centre – the Beijing Water Cube. A stroke of design genius, this Olympic Megastructure is a steel honeycomb-like frame enclosed entirely by a unique skin, modelled after soap bubbles. Using 90 kilometres worth of steel in 22,000 beams following no conventional straight lines, the Beijing Water Cube must be topped with 100,000 square metres of bubbles. Looking for a truly unique covering, the design team focuses on ETFE – a light-weight plastic invented to protect spaceships from cosmic radiation. Among ETFE’s unique properties, dot patterns on its surface can trap solar energy in the winter and reflect solar energy in the summer, keeping the building cool. The Beijing Water Cube is the largest ETFE construction in the world, and because of its honeycomb-like structure, 3,500 ETFE bubbles must be cut individually, and sized. Factor in that the dimensions have been created in Germany and must be translated into a Chinese database and the Beijing Water Cube becomes a bit of a logistical nightmare. Beijing’s Water Cube represents a true morphing of molecular science, architecture and structural engineering.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Beijing.Water.Cube.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP.avi  [349.57 Mb]

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Megastructures: Megaship
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?
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Megaship.HDTV.XViD-PiX.avi  [347.88 Mb]

Megastructures: Earthquake Glasshouse
The California Academy of Sciences is the world's largest green building. Follow its amazing story, from the initial concept to the construction.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Earthquake.Glasshouse.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP.avi  [349.36 Mb]

Megastructures: Man-Made Sun
The world of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), an evolving technology to harness the sun's rays on a massive scale to power entire communities.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Man.Made.Sun.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP.avi  [349.03 Mb]

Megastructures: Atom Smasher
The Large Hadron Collider is a titan of science. A monster of engineering, the biggest computer game in the world.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Atom.Smasher.WS.PDTV.XviD-FTP.avi  [348.76 Mb]

Megastructures Breakdown: Extreme Bridge Demolition
A young demolition team must lower an historic bridge to recycle 25,000 tons of steel, concrete and rebar (steel bars used to reinforce concrete), all while testing their limits, fighting the elements and racing against a ticking clock.
Megastructures.Extreme.Bridge.Demolition.WS.PDTV.XviD-NOsegmenT.avi  [349.16 Mb]

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Ancient Megastructures: The Colosseum
Follow the dramatic story behind the building of the Colosseum in Ancient Rome. The Romans used innovative technology that we still use today, but the money to pay for the project enslaved the nation.
National.Geographic.Ancient.Megastructures.The.Colosseum.720p.HDTV.x264-DiCH.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

Ancient Megastructures: Chartres Cathedral
Building the Chartres Cathedral pushed construction techniques to the limit, but behind this engineering triumph lies a dark story of violence, political double-dealing and destruction.
National.Geographic.Ancient.Megastructures.Chartres.720p.HDTV.x264-DiCH.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

Megastructures Breakdown: 747 Breakdown
For years, when a jumbo jet reached the end of its 30-year lifespan, it would end up in a scrap yard, or rotting at the end of a runway. But at the Evergreen Air Centre in Marana, Arizona, planes past their prime are recycled instead. Witness each step as they carefully drain toxic fluids, carve out the pricey parts – from landing gear and flight controls to engines and pumps – and then slice up the airframe.
Megastructures.747.Destruction.WS.PDTV.XviD-NOsegmenT.avi  [347.81 Mb]

Megastructures - Machines of War: Machine Gun
One hundred and fifty years of machine gun evolution has placed the firepower of a 19th century army in the hands of a company of US Marines. Specially staged live-fire machine gun events explain the key moments in the weapon's history: from the World War One machine gun that can chop down a tree, to the first gangster 'hit' with a Tommy Gun, to the modern GAU-8 Avenger - one of the deadliest machine guns in the world.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Machine.Guns.720p.HDTV.x264-DHD.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

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Megastructures - Machines of War: Missiles
How did the cruise missile become the ultimate surgical attack weapon? The weight of a family car, the cruise missile is launched from underwater, flies 2500 kilometres, dodges enemy radar and hones in on its target to strike with ruthless accuracy. Uncover the roots of the technology that make this missile the awesome weapon it is today. Ride the nose of a Tomahawk Cruise Missile and examine each key stage of its journey - launch, flight and target.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Missiles.720p.HDTV.x264-DHD.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

Megastructures: Megaplane (aka Air Force Transport)
When the U.S military needs another tank or half-dozen helicopters, there is only one way to get the goods quickly: the C-5 Galaxy aircraft, a plane that redefines jumbo. This mega mover is a flying warehouse, it's almost as long as a football field and stretches six stories high. With a wingspan of 68 metres, a cruising speed of 788 kilometres per hour and a cargo compartment as big as an eight-lane bowling alley, the C-5 can move big things almost anywhere in a hurry. Its range is virtually limitless - with the help of an air tanker, the C-5 is able to gas up while in flight. Air Force Transport profiles the C-5 Galaxy's critical mission: transporting 58,513 kilograms of armour to troops in Iraq and reveals the secrets behind flying some of the world's heaviest loads.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Megaplane.720p.HDTV.x264-DiCH.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

Megastructures: Diamond Diggers (Ekati Diamond Mine)
On the edge of the Canadian Arctic, the frigid Ekati Diamond Mine is one of the most remote mines on earth. To work in this brutal sub-Arctic land, Ekati demands some of the world's fiercest digging tools: a DeMag 655 hydraulic shovel so powerful that it scoops the weight of 900 school buses every hour, a Cat 793C haul truck so strong that it can carry the weight of three dozen elephants in one trip and enough explosives to demolish 50,000 tons of frozen granite in a single day. Diamond Diggers explores the volcanic history and incredible discovery of the frozen Ekati Mine, the inner workings of its monster machines that move mountains of gem-studded earth, and the extreme conditions braved by workers to unearth nearly five million carats of diamonds each year.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Diamond.Diggers.HDTV.XviD-MEDDY.avi  [340.97 Mb]

Megastructures: Ultimate Oil Rigs
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?
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Ultimate.Oil.Rigs.720p.HDTV.x264-DiCH.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

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Ancient Megastructures: The Great Pyramid
The Great Pyramid of Giza is 4,500 years old. It's the only ancient wonder of the world still standing. To cut and move the 2 million stones needed to build it would involve the whole Egyptian state.
National.Geographic.Ancient.Megastructures.The.Great.Pyramid.720p.HDTV.x264-DHD.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

Megastructures: SMART Tunnel
Go on an insider's voyage through the world's first combined stormwater and traffic tunnel: the SMART Tunnel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.SMART.Tunnel.720p.HDTV.x264-DiCH.mkv  [1.09 Gb]

Megastructures: Panama Canal Unlocked
Original Airdate: October 19, 2006

Lifting a mind-blowing 14,000 ships a year over a nine-storey mountain range, the Panama Canal relies on some of the mightiest machines in the world: gargantuan locks, a colossal crane, and the world's largest dipper dredge. This is one of the trickiest waterways in the world, but thousands of ships risk it every year to deliver their goods faster. Demand is so high, traffic never stops and plans for a bigger, better canal are underway. Can the mother of all mega movers handle the pressure?
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Panama.Canal.Unlocked.HDTV.ReEnc.XviD-STF.avi  [447.47 Mb]

Megastructures: Berlin Train Terminal
Original Airdate: November 15, 2005

In Berlin a construction team races to finish Europe's newest and largest train station, before millions of fans descend on the city for the World Cup. To meet this deadline, engineers will tip two massive steel towers over the station's newly completed glass roof in just two days. The new station is a bold symbol of German reunification. It sits squarely on the former border between East and West Germany. More importantly, it connects Europe's two main rail routes: from Paris to Moscow, and from Stockholm to Vienna - placing Berlin firmly at the centre of a new Europe. Designed by world famous architect Meinhard Von Gerkan, it is sheathed almost entirely in glass. Follow this daring team as they attempt an engineering feat never before accomplished in construction history.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Berlin.Train.Terminal.HDTV.ReEnc.XviD-STF.avi  [447.61 Mb]

Megastructures: Port of Rotterdam (Super Port)
Original Airdate: September 20, 2005
The Port of Rotterdam is a marine freeway. Every day an unending parade of ships goes in and out, moving 350 million tons of cargo through the port each year. It's one of the biggest ports in the world and it's one of the most challenging to operate. Traffic, tricky currents, narrow channels and some of the biggest cargo ships in the world make it a mega-operation where the stakes are high, the potential for disaster ever present. As one of the world's busiest ports, Rotterdam manages to handle a huge number of ships because of highly specialised mega-movers and expert coordination. But today the Harbor Control's skills and machines will be put to the test - Rotterdam is about to receive three of the largest, most challenging ships on the planet: The Berge Stahl, the world's largest dry bulk carrier, hauling 350,000 tonnes of iron ore; the Mighty Servant 3, delivering an entire oil rig weighing 6,000 tonnes; and the Savannah Express, hauling 8400 containers - the second largest container ship in the world.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Port.of.Rotterdam.HDTV.ReEnc.XviD-STF.avi  [447.58 Mb]

Ancient Megastructures: Petra
Stuck between a rock and a hard place in the unforgiving deserts of Petra in modern day Jordan, the Nabataean dream of a glorious royal city must have seemed like little more than a very grand mirage. Standing at the crossroads of the ancient Near East, these wealthy traders would rely on human resourcefulness and courageous endeavour to turn engineering on its head and create one of the world’s most awe-inspiring monuments, the Khazneh. Uncover how the Nabataeans held back flash-floods to protect their greatest monument, and how clues hidden deep in the building reveal the great king whose vision created this masterpiece.
National.Geographic.Ancient.Megastructures.Petra.WS.PDTV.XviD-SomeTV.avi  [349.24 Mb]

Megastructures: Sellafield Demolition
The elaborate and dangerous demolition of four obsolete cooling towers at Sellafield nuclear power plant in Cumbria, an operation that requires great expertise to ensure the 90m high structures do not hit nearby buildings when they collapse. The risky job has been assigned to a firm of specialists from Maryland, USA, who have great experience of detonating towers at nuclear power stations. However, this is the first time they have worked at a plant that is still operational.
Megastructures.Sellafield.Demolition.WS.PDTV.XviD-WATERS.avi  [347.86 Mb]

Megastructures: South Pole Station
Welcome to the South Pole, one of the most isolated places on the planet. For decades, the South Pole has been a haven for astronomy, climatology and other science fields. Now, nearly 50 years after the first research station was built, a team of mega-builders is daring to construct a 21st century science research facility: the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. But it will be fraught with challenges - construction materials must arrive by air and planes can only land here four months of the year. Worse, builders have just 100 days every season to construct this behemoth, battling the endless snow accumulation and unpredictable weather. If the team succeeds, they'll pull off the largest construction project ever attempted at the South Pole. But if they fail, they could leave an entire community hanging on ice.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.South.Pole.Station.HDTV.ReEnc.XviD-STF.avi  [447.68 Mb]

Megastructures: Hawaii Superferry
Construction is underway on the Hawaii Superferry. This Mega-Mover will be the largest aluminium vessel of its kind ever built in the US - a floating city complete with shops, restaurants and enough storage space to stash nearly 300 cars. It is designed to ride the big waves of Hawaii and forge new routes for inter-island commerce and travel. A team of workers in Alabama must convert the innovative design into a functional ferry, built for stability and speed. Will they succeed?
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Hawaii.Superferry.HDTV.ReEnc.XviD-STF.avi  [447.27 Mb]

Megastructures: Vegas Demolition
The owners of the New Frontier casino hotel in Las Vegas want their historic building demolished to make way for a new multimillion-dollar complex. A family-run demolition company is overseeing the project and needs to carefully plan the operation to avoid damage to its surrounding buildings, including the 64-storey Trump Towers.
Megastructures.Vegas.Demolition.WS.PDTV.XviD-aAF.avi  [350.32 Mb]

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Megastructures: Rocket Launch Demolition
At Patrick Air Force Base in Cape Canaveral, a family-run demolition company faces its most difficult assignment yet. Controlled Demolitions, Inc (CDI), run by Mark Loizeaux, has been tasked with dismantling a 6,000-ton rocket launch tower known as MST 40. This relic of the space age launched 55 Titan rockets in the 1960s, before being converted into a giant rocket repair shop in the 1980s.
Megastructures.Rocket.Launch.Demolition.WS.PDTV.XviD-aAF.avi  [350.53 Mb]

Megastructures: Sinking an Aircraft Carrier
This programme follows a specialist demolition team as it attempts to sink the USS Oriskany aircraft carrier in a bid to create the largest artificial reef in the world. Battling through thick steel plating and hazardous waste, the divers, marine architect experts, demolition teams, engineering units and local authorities discover the secret of sinking such a huge vessel and, in the process, write a new chapter in marine demolition.
Megastructures.Sinking.An.Aircraft.Carrier.WS.PDTV.XviD-NOsegmenT.avi  [349.54 Mb]

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Megastructures: USS Virginia (2005)
As the most cutting-edge underwater warship in the world, the new USS Virginia submarine weighs 7,800 tons. Yet it's so sleekly built that it can slip past radar detection to collect enemy intelligence. This program examines the stunning military history, technological secrets and ingenious engineers that shaped the US Navy's first major nuclear submarine redesign since the Cold War. Specially crafted for military needs of the 21st century, the Virginia can spy in shallow coastal waters, accommodate a team of Navy SEALs or fire Tomahawk land attack missiles from its 12 vertical launch platforms. Going behind the scenes of this submarine's breakthrough construction and rigorous crew training, USS Virginia reveals the incredible details behind the underwater megastructure that will be integral to the future of America's national security.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.USS.Virginia.HDTV.XviD-NOsegmenT.avi  [349.66 Mb]

Megastructures: Electric Ocean
The ocean could be our most valuable source of green energy. Three teams of engineers seek the best way to generate electricity using its power.
National.Geographic.Megastructures.Electric.Ocean.HDTV.ReEnc.XviD-STF.avi  [447.68 Mb]