If like us at CultBox Towers, you grew up fascinated by the space race, and in particular the Space Shuttle, there’s a podcast series coming in July that’s right up your street.

13 Minutes is the BBC podcast about epic space stories, told by the people who made them happen. This is the third season, following on from the stories of the first Moon landing and the near-disaster of Apollo 13, tells the story of NASA’s Space Shuttle program.

Presented by space scientist Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, it takes us from the program’s beginnings as a clandestine project, all the way through to the return to flight after the tragedy of the Challenger disaster.

Here’s what the BBC say about 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle:

The Space Shuttle program set out to achieve what once seemed impossible – to launch like a rocket and land like a plane. A reusable spacecraft – capable of flying to space and back, again and again – had previously been in the realm of science fiction. But this was about more than just going into space and coming back; it was a grand vision for the future of human spaceflight. Unlike the Apollo missions, the Shuttle aimed to establish a lasting, structured human presence in space – routine access to space on a scale never seen.

The ambitions of the Shuttle program were extraordinary, but the journey to make that ambition live was a long and difficult one. The Shuttle required new designs and technology, a new generation of astronauts and a new way of thinking about getting into space and back again. It’s a story that takes in politics, espionage and personal tragedy.

We hear about the new recruits who previously could only have dreamt of becoming astronauts; we learn about the baby who played at her mother’s feet as she trained to fly; the spacewalk that saved millions of dollars, and the true story behind one of the most famous photos ever taken in orbit.

The podcast is a BBC Audio Science Unit production for the BBC World Service. The theme music is by Hans Zimmer and Christian Lundberg, and produced by Russell Emanuel, for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Podcast host, Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, says:

“I’m delighted to be joining the team of 13 Minutes and telling the extraordinary story of the Space Shuttle. The first two seasons of the podcast made for essential listening, so it’s a privilege to be a part of season three. I hope listeners will join me as we explore the Space Shuttle and that they come away with a deeper appreciation for the people, risks, and moments that shaped this incredible chapter in space exploration history.”

13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle launches on 14th July. It will be available on BBC Sounds and wherever you get your BBC podcasts, and released as a boxset on BBC Sounds too.

Outside the UK, the box set will also be available on BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts. Episodes will be released weekly, every Monday, on most other podcast apps.