• MEGASTRUCTURES

  • Monday 25 June at 09:00 AM CAT
  • National Geographic Channel

DESCRIPTION

We focus on modern-day miracles of construction. Superhuman feats of modern engineering from around the world.

In Megastructures: Panama Canal we meet the mother of all mega-movers. Every year this strategic waterway lifts 14,000 ships over the equivalent of a nine-storey mountain range. Relying on some of the mightiest machines and feats of engineering in the world, the demands for its services are high, and now there are plans afoot for an even bigger, better canal.

Megastructures: Deep Sea Drillers follows an attempt to tap some of the most inaccessible natural gas on the planet, in which five high-tech mega vessels will complete a 1,800 square mile gas network, over a mile and a half below the ocean’s surface. At the heart of the project is the enormous gas-processing platform, the Independence Hub. If successful the system will produce enough gas to supply nearly 5 million households in the US.

Megastructures: Iceland’s Big Dig takes us six hundred feet underground in Iceland’s remote Eastern highlands to a gigantic Tunnel Boring Machine called Jaws. After two years of constant grind, "Jaws" has bored a tunnel over twenty-five feet in diameter nearly nine miles through basalt. This tunnel is the linchpin of a massive Hydro-Electric project that plans to use the melt water from a massive glacier to make electricity. One of the biggest challenges is steering this monster machine in a straight line, so that after nine miles eighty-eight yards it hits target dead centre. Will "Jaws" Breakthrough or bust?

Megastructures: Super Pipeline looks at one of the gas industry’s riskiest projects ever undertaken. By 2008, Britain will be connected to Norway via a 1,200 km super pipeline. It’s composed of over one million tonnes of steel and equating to a 1/3 of the world’s combined pipeline production company. Yet all of the work must be completed by robots working 3 km under the North Sea against harsh underwater currents, sub-zero temperatures and abysmal wind and wave conditions.

They span acres of land and consume enough electricity to power small towns. Megafactories are some of the most unique production facilities on Earth. We visit Italy’s Ferrari factories, to witness the construction of the Ferrari 599 from molten metal through to its 200 mph test drives, and learn how Formula One technology is transferred onto the production line. Then to Ohio and Texas, to see how tanks can be stripped down and rebuilt from the ground up, rather than built from new. In combat they are weapons capable of destroying targets two miles away. Finally, Apache Helicopters are perhaps the most lethal attack helicopters in the world. We visit the Boeing plant in Arizona, to see how sophisticated military technology is helping to make sure that the Apache pilots make it back home.

Take an eye-popping look at the greatest structures and machines ever created.

The Harley-Davidson is an American icon. We go behind the scenes at the Harley-Davidson HQ to discover how this particular mega factory is able to rev up 50 new Harleys every single hour, and get an inside peek at the process to create the controversial newly designed V-Rod. We also visit the John Deere factory, which covers more than 300,000 square metres, houses more than 2000 employees and 49 robotic welders. Find out how all these elements combine to help stamp, press, cut and weld 60,000 tons of steel into the John Deere STS Combine – a harvesting mega-machine. Finally we travel to the Peterbilt factory where workers are busy building Model 387 trucks, made to pull vehicles weighing up to 36 tonnes. With its mechanical brute strength and human creativity, this mega factory brings Peterbilt’s aerodynamic king of the long-distance fleet to the road.

EPISODE GUIDE

  • Megastructures: Britain's New Railway
    Explore one of the largest engineering projects in UK history: High Speed One, the groundbreaking high-speed rail link between London and Paris.
  • Megastructures: Ice Breakers
    Examine the vessels that keep the world's shipping lanes open and follow the construction of the largest commercial icebreaker ever built.
  • Megastructures: Berlin Train Terminal
    In Berlin, a construction team races to finish Europe's newest and largest train station before the football World Cup. Follow the team as it attempts an engineering feat never before accomplished in construction history.
  • Megastructures: World's Tallest TV Tower
    The elegant Guangzhou Sightseeing and TV Tower is one of the world's tallest buildings. Find out how it is designed to withstand Mother Nature.
  • Megastructures: Super Ski Lift
    Follow the staggering $25 million project to 'super size' the famous aerial tram at Jackson Hole, with some parts constructed at over 4,000ft.
  • Megastructures: Air Crane Helicopter
    Take a look at the phenomenally powerful Air-Crane heavy-lift helicopter, capable of carrying out gruelling work with surgical precision.
  • 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.
  • Megastructures: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
    Containing both the world's largest chandelier and the world's biggest carpet, explore the remarkable Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
  • Megastructures: World's Tallest TV Tower
    The elegant Guangzhou Sightseeing and TV Tower is one of the world's tallest buildings. Find out how it is designed to withstand Mother Nature.
  • Megastructures: Super Ski Lift
    Follow the staggering $25 million project to 'super size' the famous aerial tram at Jackson Hole, with some parts constructed at over 4,000ft.
  • Megastructures: The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
    Containing both the world's largest chandelier and the world's biggest carpet, explore the remarkable Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.
  • Megastructures: Britain's New Railway
    Explore one of the largest engineering projects in UK history: High Speed One, the groundbreaking high-speed rail link between London and Paris.
  • Megastructures: China's Smart Tower
    Discover how a multitude of energy efficient technologies power China's Pearl River Tower, one of a new generation of super skyscrapers.
  • Megastructures: Singapore Vegas
    The secrets behind Singapore's Marina Bay Sands development, which includes hotels, a museum, casino, waterfront promenade and theatres.
  • Megastructures: World Record Cruise Ship
    The record-smashing Oasis of the Seas can carry 8500 passengers and crew on its 16 decks. Find out how this architectural marvel was built.
  • Megastructures: The Leaning Tower Of Abu Dhabi
    The Capital Gate building will create an iconic and avant-garde entrance to the city of Abu Dhabi, leaning at a record-breaking 18 degrees.
  • Megastructures: Skyscraper In The Round
    Following the construction of a truly remarkable building – the Aldar HQ building in Abu Dhabi – from conception to completion.
  • Megastructures: Dubai Race Course
    Built in the middle of the desert, the new Meydan racecourse will define raceday luxury. But will it be finished in time for the Dubai World Cup?
  • Megastructures: Dubai Racecourse
    Built in the middle of the desert, the new Meydan racecourse will define raceday luxury. But will it be finished in time for the Dubai World Cup?
  • Megastructures: Hoover Dam Bridge
    To save one of the most iconic engineering wonders of all time requires the creation of another masterpiece: the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge.
  • Megastructures: Monster Shredder
    Every day monster machines burst into life to do one job: devour mountains of scrap metal. What does it take to create these industrial titans?
  • Megastructures: Heavy Metal Shredding
    Every day, thousands of vehicles are broken down for recycling. Take a look at how a jumbo jet is broken down into parts the size of beer cans.
  • Megastructures: World's Biggest Tent
    World-renowned architect Norman Foster details his plans for a space-age entertainment centre in the capital of Kazakhstan.
  • Megastructures: Extreme Railway
    Crossing some of the planet's toughest terrain at high altitude, the 1000km Qinghai-Tibet railway is an extraordinary feat of engineering.
  • Megastructures: World's Fastest Rollercoaster
    Find out how the world's most impressive buildings are constructed, as this series explores impressive engineering across the globe.
  • Megastructures: EcoARK
    Largely constructed from recycled plastic bottles, Taiwan's nine-story EcoARK Pavilion sets a new benchmark in green engineering.
  • Megastructures: Spaceport America
    Witness the plans and challenges of erecting a revolutionary space port in the middle of the desert in America.
  • Megastructures: Future Trains
    Speeding at 430 km/h, a futuristic magnetic levitation train turns a 30 km journey into an eight-minute joyride. Safe and efficient MAGLEV technology could change the way we travel in the future.
  • Megastructures: The 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...
  • Megastructures: Sears Tower
    Journey deep inside North America's tallest building to find out what its quirks are, and what it takes to run such a feat of engineering.
  • Megastructures: Beijing Olympic Stadium
    Examine the unique features of the Beijing National Stadium – one of the most ambitious construction projects ever attempted in modern China.
  • Megastructures: Beijing Water Cube
    The Beijing Water Cube is a bold experiment in architecture and a cutting-edge vision of eco-engineering. Go behind the scenes to learn more about this brilliant fantasia of steel and plastic.
  • Megastructures: Super Pipeline
    A 1,200 km super pipeline connecting Norway and the UK is only part of the plan to tap into Norway's second largest gas deposit.
  • Megastructures: Ice Hotel
    Every year thousands of tons of ice and snow are needed to build the Ice Hotel. Witness the construction and disappearance of this most unique megastructure.
  • Megastructures: The World's Biggest Shredder
    Experience the mighty mega-shredder. The world's largest metal recycling machine can reduce the equivalent of 450 cars an hour to an unrecognisable pulp.
  • Megastructures: Panama Canal
    Despite being one of the world's trickiest waterways to navigate, the Panama Canal lifts 14,000 ships a year over a mountain range. But as traffic increases, plans are afoot to make it even bigger.
  • Megastructures: Garbage Mountain
    Uncover the giant world of garbage at America's largest active mega-dump in Puente Hills, California. Here, a record 2,000 tonnes of rubbish are processed in an hour.
  • Megastructures: Made Of Steel
    One of the strongest materials on Earth, steel has changed history and altered civilisations. Explore this metal's impressive versatility, from constructing grand skyscrapers to making simple cutlery.
  • Megastructures: Dubai's Palm Island
    An enormous project is under way in the Arabian Gulf that will change the face of the coastline: large artificial islands are being constructed in the shape of palm trees. Follow the race to build this ambitious engineering feat.
    Next Showing:  
    Monday 25 June at 09:00 AM CAT - National Geographic Channel
  • Megastructures: World Island Wonder
    Go on a roller-coaster journey through Dubai's unprecedented land reclamation project, where 300 new manmade islands are being created, pushing the construction team to the limit.
  • Megastructures: Money Factory
    Explore America's mammoth money-making industry, a secretive world of monster machines, impenetrable vaults and an army of guards, all supporting the world's most powerful economy.
  • Megastructures: Oil Mine
    There is enough oil in the frozen wasteland of Canada's northern plains to free the US and Canada from dependence on Saudi Arabia within nine years. Extracting is a huge engineering project.
  • Megastructures: Channel Tunnel
    Construction of the most expensive railway tunnel in history suffered from flood and roof collapse, but technology finally saved the day.
  • Megastructures: Megaship
    At any one time there are nearly 30,000 ships at sea; about 3,200 of them are container ships. Join us on board OOCL Atlanta. At 1,000ft long, she is longer than 35 double-decker buses.
  • Megastructures: South Pole Station
    For decades the South Pole has been a haven for astronomy and climatology. Now, despite the inhospitable conditions, a project is under way to build a 21st-century research facility.
  • Megastructures: Super Pipeline
    A 1,200 km super pipeline connecting Norway and the UK is only part of the plan to tap into Norway's second largest gas deposit.
  • Megastructures: Future Trains
    Speeding at 430 km/h, a futuristic magnetic levitation train turns a 30 km journey into an eight-minute joyride. Safe and efficient MAGLEV technology could change the way we travel in the future.
  • Megastructures: Dubai's Palm Island
    An enormous project is under way in the Arabian Gulf that will change the face of the coastline: large artificial islands are being constructed in the shape of palm trees. Follow the race to build this ambitious engineering feat.
  • Megastructures: Diamond Diggers
    At the Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, meet the world's most hardcore mining machines: the D90 rotary blast drill, the DeMag 655 hydraulic shovel, and the CAT 793C haul truck.
  • Megastructures: Oil Mine
    There is enough oil in the frozen wasteland of Canada's northern plains to free the US and Canada from dependence on Saudi Arabia within nine years. Extracting is a huge engineering project.
  • Megastructures: Hoover Dam
    It took five years to build and, when completed in 1936, the Hoover Dam was one of the world's largest hydroelectric facilities. Today it generates four billion kilowatt hours of energy a year, enough to serve 1.3 million people.
  • Megastructures: Money Factory
    Explore America's mammoth money-making industry, a secretive world of monster machines, impenetrable vaults and an army of guards, all supporting the world's most powerful economy.
  • Megastructures: South Pole Station
    For decades the South Pole has been a haven for astronomy and climatology. Now, despite the inhospitable conditions, a project is under way to build a 21st-century research facility.
  • Megastructures: Queen Mary 2
    In 1998, long after the golden age of ocean liner travel had ended, an American billionaire decides to fulfil his dream and build the largest ocean liner on the planet in record time.
  • Megastructures: The World's Biggest Shredder
    Experience the mighty mega-shredder. The world's largest metal recycling machine can reduce the equivalent of 450 cars an hour to an unrecognisable pulp.
  • Megastructures: Beijing Water Cube
    The Beijing Water Cube is a bold experiment in architecture and a cutting-edge vision of eco-engineering. Go behind the scenes to learn more about this brilliant fantasia of steel and plastic.
  • Megastructures: North Sea Wall
    In response to the threat of rising sea levels and swelling rivers, the Dutch are designing floating houses, roads and even cities.
  • Megastructures: Port Of Rotterdam
    The Port of Rotterdam is a freeway: every day 450 ships pass through it carrying one million tonnes of cargo worth a staggering $1 billion.
  • Megastructures: Sea Launch
    The story of a unique engineering feat – a groundbreaking satellite-launching system that ferries rockets to the equator and launches satellites into orbit from a floating platform.
  • Megastructures: Built From Brick
    An essential building block of civilisations, the brick is capable of producing amazing architecture. Visit a brick-making factory and explore famous brick structures such as the Great Wall of China.
  • Megastructures: Port Of Rotterdam
    The Port of Rotterdam is a freeway: every day 450 ships pass through it carrying one million tonnes of cargo worth a staggering $1 billion.
  • Megastructures: North Sea Wall
    In response to the threat of rising sea levels and swelling rivers, the Dutch are designing floating houses, roads and even cities.
  • Megastructures: Dubai's Dream Palace
    As Dubai's oil began to run dry, its ruler conceived the idea of turning the country into the world's leading tourist destination. Revealing the incredible engineering behind the iconic Burj al Arab.
  • Megastructures: Shanghai Super Tower
    The Shanghai World Financial Centre will, on completion, be mainland China's tallest building. At 101 floors tall, the skyscraper has been built to withstand anything nature and man can throw at it.
  • Megastructures: World Trade Centre Bahrain
    The Bahrain World Trade Centre stands proud at over 240 metres tall and is powered by a revolutionary method – wind. Explore the science behind this unique architectural marvel.
  • Megastructures: Air Force Transport
    Dover Air Force Base is the busiest US military aerial port, responsible for more than 30 per cent of US military materials sent overseas.
  • Megastructures: The World's Most Powerful Dam
    The Itaipu Dam is the world's largest hydro-electric power plant and a triumph of engineering. Discover how it was built against impossible odds.
  • Megastructures: Air Force Transport
    Dover Air Force Base is the busiest US military aerial port, responsible for more than 30 per cent of US military materials sent overseas.
  • Megastructures: USS Ronald Reagan
    Step aboard the US's newest aircraft carrier as it sets out on its maiden voyage and learn what it takes to make this vast floating city operate.
  • Megastructures: The World's Most Powerful Dam
    The Itaipu Dam is the world's largest hydro-electric power plant and a triumph of engineering. Discover how it was built against impossible odds.
  • Megastructures: North Branch Correctional Facility
    Take an inside look at the largest and most technologically advanced maximum-security prison currently under construction in the US – Maryland's North Branch Correctional Institution.
  • 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.
  • Megastructures: The Tallest Towers
    The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur are a mammoth feat of engineering, but architect Cesar Pelli and his team had to overcome fearsome obstacles.
  • 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.
  • Megastructures: Ultimate Skyscraper NYC
    Visit amazing construction and engineering projects as building experts employ green technology on a mega scale.
  • Megastructures: Grand Canyon Skywalk
    Explore the unique design of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which lets visitors walk out over the canyon and look down 4,000 feet to the river below.
  • Megastructures: Grand Canyon Skywalk
    Explore the unique design of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which lets visitors walk out over the canyon and look down 4,000 feet to the river below.
  • Megastructures: World's Fastest Rollercoaster
    Find out how the world's most impressive buildings are constructed, as this series explores impressive engineering across the globe.
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