NOVA's "Operation Space Station" — A Cinematic Tribute to 25 Years of the ISS (Premieres Nov. 5 & 12, 2025)

PBS and NOVA Commemorate 25 Years of Continuous Human Presence on the ISS

To mark 25 years of continuous human habitation aboard the International Space Station, NOVA presents a two-part documentary, Operation Space Station, airing Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, 2025. The series is a NOVA production by Blink Films for GBH, made in association with France Télévisions, written and directed by Oscar Chan.

The film combines cinematic reconstructions, advanced CGI and more than a quarter-century of NASA archival footage to trace the station's extraordinary history — from assembly in orbit to decades of scientific research and life in microgravity. NOVA calls the project "an immersive experience that places viewers inside the cramped modules and spacewalks, to experience the claustrophobia, wonder, and split-second decisions that defined life aboard humanity's most remote outpost."

Episode 1 — High-Risk Build

The first episode, High-Risk Build, examines the astonishing engineering and international collaboration that made the ISS possible. It explores the step-by-step assembly of modules and trusses in the unforgiving environment of space, where vacuum, radiation and extreme temperature swings turn routine tasks into high-stakes operations.

Episode 2 — Science and Survival

The second episode, Science and Survival, focuses on life aboard the finished station: the research carried out in microgravity, and the unexpected crises crews have faced. Astronauts recount harrowing moments of danger and ingenuity, from Luca Parmitano's helmet flooding during a spacewalk to a software glitch on a new module that briefly sent the station into an uncontrolled spin.

"What's remarkable about the stories that 'Operation Space Station' tells is the way they remind us that the potential for disaster is a constant companion for the astronauts and how, time and again, through innovative ideas and productive collaboration, they averted disaster," said NOVA Co-Executive Producer Chris Schmidt. "Over 25 years of continual habitation, not a single life was lost aboard the ISS — a testament to the courage and dedication of every astronaut and engineer."

"When you see the challenges that these astronauts had to overcome, you realize how thin the margin for error really is," said Executive Producer Dan Chambers. "These moments show people solving seemingly impossible problems with physics, chemistry, and sheer will."

Beyond its retrospective account of past achievements and emergencies, the series looks ahead to the station's planned retirement. The ISS is scheduled for controlled de-orbit in 2030, when it is expected to re-enter and be retired in the Pacific Ocean, closing a unique chapter in human spaceflight.

Broadcast details: "Operation Space Station: High-Risk Build" premieres on Nov. 5, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS. "Operation Space Station: Science and Survival" airs Nov. 12, 2025, at 9 p.m. ET. Both episodes will also be available to stream on PBS.org/NOVA, NOVA's YouTube channel, and the PBS Documentaries channel on Prime Video.

Produced for public television with international partners, the two-part series aims to be emotional and cinematic while offering a vivid, inside look at how scientists, engineers and astronauts collaborated to keep the orbiting laboratory operating and productive for a quarter-century.