On this episode of Our American Stories, in the 1950s, the Soviet Union seemed to have an insurmountable lead in the Space Race. American rockets exploded, astronauts lost their lives, and many doubted the United States would ever reach the Moon. Yet less than 12 years after Sputnik, Neil Armstrong took humanity's first steps onto another world.

Space historian Steve Kates, better known as Dr. Sky, tells the remarkable story of the Apollo program, from Sputnik and Apollo 1 to Apollo 8's daring journey around the Moon and the triumph of Apollo 11.

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