It focuses on Sergei Korolev, the Soviet chief rocket designer, and Wernher von Braun, his American counterpart.

The results of Wernher von Braun's work on the V-2 for the Nazis at Mittelwerk and Peenemünde is shown, and his final activities within Germany during the last years of the Second World War, as both American and Soviet forces race to capture German rocket technology.

However, when the Americans gain the upper hand by recovering von Braun and most of his senior staff, along with all their technical documents and much other materiel.

Both the Americans and Soviets are planning crewed space flights, and we see both sides preparing to do so with the development of the Vostok programme (USSR) and Project Mercury (USA).

Both countries now plan to put a man on the Moon; the Americans pull ahead in the space race with Project Gemini, but then suffer a disaster with the Apollo 1 fire.

Shot in widescreen 25fps progressive mode, the series deliver rich, filmic feel, which compares favourably with high definition.