S2009 E1 • Miami Super Stadium

The Orange Bowl, home to the Miami Dolphins for 21 seasons and host of five Super Bowls is about to be demolished. It’s a monster breakdown job, with a monster deadline: in just four months, a demolition team needs to clear over a quarter million feet of stadium to prepare for a new stadium. Not only is there a tight timetable, everything must be salvaged or recycled. But before the team can break down the stadium, they have to save parts of it. After a memorabilia company combs the bowl for collectibles and auctions off what they salvage, it’s finally time for the demolitionists to get their hands on the bowl. 50,000 left over orange seats, nearly 100,000 square feet of turf, and eight ten-ton stadium light towers are recycled or resold, freeing the team to take down the stadium itself. Using a combination of wrecking balls and mega machines, they cut, pull and pummel this historic structure until it’s nothing more than rubble. The iconic Orange Bowl, is about to be history.

Première diffusion : 13 janvier 2009

S2009 E2 • Grand Canyon Skywalk

Perched 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the very edge of the Grand Canyon is one of the most recent and innovative engineering marvels of our time. The Grand Canyon Skywalk, opened to the public in March 2007, is an engineering masterpiece united with natural wonder. It is the first ever cantilever designed glass bridge. Constructed in a horseshoe shape, visitors are given the chance to walk out over the edge of the canyon and look straight down. It's about 4,000 feet above the canyon, which is higher than any of the world's largest buildings and extends 70 feet from the edge. Take a closer look at the Skywalk's design, construction and the people that made it a reality.

Première diffusion : 18 mars 2009

S2009 E3 • Soviet Doomsday Sub

In the extreme Russian north a team of engineers are ready to dismantle a Typhoon-class submarine – the world's largest nuclear submarine. In its heyday, this monster sub was a terrifying weapon of war. It prowled the oceans of the world armed with 20 deadly nuclear missiles. Now that the Cold War is over, the Typhoon is ready for demolition. But dismantling a submarine with two nuclear reactors is a risky mission. It will take the team over a year to remove the radioactive nuclear fuel, move the submarine into the dry dock and cut its hull into pieces small enough for recycling.

Première diffusion : 8 mars 2009

S2009 E4 • Train Wreck

Railroads are the backbone of American industry. 170,000 miles of track crisscross the country from coast to coast, moving two quadrillion tons of freight every year. But nothing lasts forever, and that includes a couple of 180-ton locomotives. Their engine technology is inefficient so they're headed for the scrap dealer where they'll be cut down and cannibalised. Any salvageable parts must come out intact for resale, while any leftover metals – like steel and copper – will be cut up, melted down and ultimately reformed into new products. In this business, nothing goes to waste. Take an inside look at the unknown world of scrap, where locomotives go to die and be reborn

Première diffusion : 24 mars 2009

S2009 E5 • La force des océans

Trois équipes d'ingénieurs ont développé chacune une technologie expérimentale pour créer une énergie propre. Leur objectif : utiliser la puissance marine pour produire de l'électricité. Le projet Seagen promet d'utiliser des turbines sous forme d'éoliennes sous-marines dans les courants maritimes irlandais. Le Roosevelt Island project s'essaie dans l'east river à New York pour alimenter avec des turbines un garage et un supermarché avoisinants. En Écosse, une équipe a construit un serpent de mer rouge flottant qui convertit l'énergie des vagues océaniques en électricité. Les premiers tests au Portugal s'avèrent concluants…

Première diffusion : 31 mars 2009

S2009 E6 • L'hélicoptère Air-crane

L'hélicoptère Air-crane. Les hélicoptères Air-crane sont spécialement conçus pour transporter des matériaux lourds. Sortes de "grues volantes", ils servent à construire des tours d'antennes, à faire des travaux forestiers et occasionnellement comme bombardiers d'eau. Trois pilotes sont nécessaires : deux à l'avant et un à l'arrière qui manœuvre les commandes. Ce type d'hélicoptère peut soulever plusieurs tonnes et était surtout utilisé par l'armée, notamment pendant la guerre du Vietnam.

Première diffusion : 16 juin 2009

S2009 E7 • Icebreaker

Breaking through over 40 feet of ice demands a vessel of incredible power. That's where the Icebreaker comes into its own. These behemoths keep the world's shipping lanes open during the harshest of conditions, making them vital to the global economy. Follow the construction of a vessel that can break ice and carry cargo at the same time: the Arctic Icebreaking Containership. This is the largest commercial icebreaker ever built.

Première diffusion : 23 juin 2009

S2009 E8 • Rocket Launch Demolition

This installment follows the demolition of a 40-year-old rocket launch tower at Cape Canaveral. This tough, 90m high structure represents a massive logistical challenge for a family of demolition experts. Up to a third of the building’s entire weight must be stripped out before the tower can be imploded. Workers must brave high winds at great heights to ensure charges are planted correctly.

Première diffusion : 19 août 2009

S2009 E9 • Megabridges Greece

Première diffusion : 27 août 2009

S2009 E10 • John Deere

Première diffusion : 3 septembre 2009

S2009 E11 • Skyscraper

Première diffusion : 1 octobre 2009

S2009 E12 • The World's Tallest TV Tower

At 610m high the Guangzhou Sightseeing and TV Tower is the tallest television tower on earth and among the world's top ten tallest buildings. Tough enough to withstand typhoon, earthquake and other assaults from Mother Nature, this elegant building forced a rewrite of the rule books. A deceptively simple twist in the middle of the main 450m tower sets this super tall building in a mega class of its own and, proves a test of massive proportions for the team responsible for breathing life into the vision of Dutch architects Mark Hemel and Barbara Kuit.

Première diffusion : 10 décembre 2009

S2009 E13 • Super Sky Tram

For over 40 years the Big Red Box at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, carried skiers, hikers, paragliders and sightseers up to the 3,400-metre summit of Rendezvous Mountain. But nothing lasts forever, so when cable inspector Norm Duke found evidence of stress fractures inside the aging steel track cables, there was no choice but to tear down and replace Jackson's iconic aerial tram. At a cost of US$31 million, this two year construction project is a top-to-bottom, state-of-the-art replacement. It will operate in 120 kph winds and minus 30°C temperatures, all with the quiet precision of a giant Swiss watch. Construction crews battle a record-breaking snowfall, zero visibility, high winds and impassable mud-slick mountain roads to build its five towers and two terminals, and string more than ten miles of heavy steel cable as they risk their lives in a battle to finish before winter closes in.

Première diffusion : 27 décembre 2009