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Supersonic Spies
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Program Overview
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With the sound barrier broken, design engineers turned to their next
big challenge: build the world's first supersonic passenger jet.
Against the backdrop of the cold war, the Soviet Union and the West
squared off in a race to be first. On December 31, 1968, the Soviets
won, launching the TU-144 three months before Concorde's maiden
flight.
Competition continued over the years, with one tragic incident
occurring at the 1973 Paris Air Show where the TU-144 suddenly lost
control and crashed, killing its Soviet crew and eight French
citizens. NOVA follows this intensely competitive chapter in
aeronautical history, from massive industrial espionage and
government cover-ups to today's period of cooperation to build the
second generation of supersonic passenger jets.
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