The BEST episodes of Impossible Engineering
Every episode of Impossible Engineering ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Impossible Engineering!
Impossible Engineering looks at the history of pioneering modern-day mega structures. Behind every seemingly impossible marvel of modern engineering is a cast of historic trailblazers who designed new building techniques, took risks on untested materials and revolutionised their field. It is a tribute to their achievements. Each episode details how giant structures, record-beating buildings, and the world’s most cutting-edge ships, trains and planes are built and work using 3D graphics, archive and specially shot footage. As this series revels in these modern day creations, it leaps back in time to recount the stories of the exceptional engineers whose technological advances made it all possible.
#1 - Skyscraper of the Future
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/11/2015
Soaring over 2,000 feet into the sky, the Shanghai Tower is the second tallest building in the world, and a futuristic engineering marvel. Discover how cutting-edge technology means that the building's occupants will never feel it sway.
#2 - Ultimate Airport
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/18/2015
The Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay, Japan, is built on the largest man-made island in the world. Discover how engineers built an artificial island on top of clay seabed.
#3 - World's Fastest Train
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/25/2015
The Shanghai Maglev is the fastest passenger train in operation in the world. Uncover how engineers are able to design a train that could levitate, and reach a remarkable top speed of 268 mph.
#4 - World's Largest Plane
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/1/2015
Examine the Airbus A380 inside and out, and uncover how its engineers redefined the limits of modern aviation.
#5 - NASA's Rocket to Mars
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/16/2016
For NASA to send a person Mars, they will need to build the most powerful rocket ever built. Discover inside story behind the Orion Space Craft, an engineering feat designed to sustain astronauts for years in one of the universe's harshest environments.
#6 - World's Tallest Bridge
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/23/2016
How did engineers build the tallest bridge on the planet? As tall as a skyscraper, the Millau Viaduct braves deadly wind speeds over an immense abyss, and we go inside the story behind this modern wonder.
#7 - Ultimate Football Stadium
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/30/2016
The AT&T Stadium in Texas is home to the Dallas Cowboys and the world's largest retractable roof. This $1.2 billion stadium can house over 100,000 fans, and we'll go inside how this engineering feat was built.
#8 - The Glass Skyscraper
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/4/2016
The Shard: The Shard became the tallest building in London upon its completion in 2012. Standing over 1,000ft high, hear how this 95-storey skyscraper was conceived and constructed.
#9 - Ultimate Warship
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/20/2015
A look at how the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier works: it has a surface area larger than two soccer fields and is full of cutting edge F35 fighter jets.
#10 - Mega Bridge
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/13/2015
Explore how engineers conquered deep water and hurricane force winds to build the Rion Antirion Bridge, a structure that could hold up in one of the most active earthquake zones on our planet.
#11 - Underwater Mega Tower
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/7/2019
One of the most cutting-edge buildings in the world is a 16-story hotel built on the cliffs of an abandoned quarry, and using the latest science and tech, engineers race to build this innovative mega-structure with two underwater floors.
#12 - Seattle Super Bridge
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/22/2020
Engineers in Seattle are building the world's first floating railway bridge, and to tackle this complex engineering challenge, they use new, innovative construction technology that enables high-speed trains to go where they've never gone before.
#13 - The Trains That Built America
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/8/2019
The first railroads in the United States were engineering marvels built to conquer America's deadliest places. Using cutting-edge science, engineers and builders changed the nation by connecting the California frontier with the rest of the country.
#14 - Secrets of the Supertanker
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/15/2020
The world's biggest oil tanker is longer than four football fields and can haul 15,000 trucks worth of oil. Thanks to cutting-edge maritime engineering, this record-breaking vessel makes its deliveries across rough seas quicker and safer than ever.
#15 - Conquering Avalanche Country
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/19/2020
Deadly avalanches and catastrophic flooding are ever-present threats at one of the world's busiest ski resorts, but new technology and cutting-edge construction methods help engineers conquer the elements to keep this mountain-top getaway safe.
#16 - World's Highest Bridge
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/12/2020
The world's highest bridge impossibly spans an 1,800-foot chasm known as the Crack in the Earth, and to build this engineering marvel, experts use cutting-edge construction technology that can conquer the deadly cliffs of this rugged environment.
#17 - Spy Plane Declassified
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/5/2020
A state-of-the-art NATO airplane is one of the most complex surveillance tools in the world. Special access inside the behemoth reveals how cutting-edge engineering and a hi-tech midair refueling system helps its crew defend against security threats.
#18 - World's Biggest Airport
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/29/2020
Engineers are racing against the clock to build the world's biggest airport, and using cutting-edge construction methods, experts put the finishing touches on a modern-day marvel that will move 100 million people in and out of Beijing every year.
#19 - NYC Mega Tower
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/22/2020
The skinniest skyscraper in the world will soon become New York's third tallest, and using an innovative, gravity-defying design, this colossal megastructure is breaking all the rules of engineering.
#20 - F-35 Fighter Jet
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/15/2020
The F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet on the planet. Special access into the most expensive military program ever reveals how engineers use cutting-edge tech to outfit this 1,200 mile-per-hour aircraft with a state-of-the-art stealth system.
#21 - World's Toughest Tunnels
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/8/2020
A team of engineers are overhauling London's underground infrastructure to build a world-class sewer system. Using cutting-edge tech and the latest construction methods, they work to transform a centuries-old network into a modern-day masterpiece.
#22 - Dubai's Impossible Island
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/2020
The man-made islands of Dubai are modern-day engineering marvels that turn the Arabian Sea into high-priced real estate. Today, a team of expert engineers use cutting-edge technology to build a brand-new city district where there was once only water.
#23 - Rise of the Hyperloop
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/5/2019
Engineers at Virgin are building the world's first hyperloop train system, a high-speed technology that uses magnetic levitation to travel over 600 miles per hour.
#24 - NYC Monster Train
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/29/2019
New York City is building an 11 billion dollar construction project to extend the busy Long Island Railroad, and using brand-new technology, engineers and builders blast bedrock to create a vast tunnel below Grand Central Terminal.
#25 - Himalaya Mega Bridge
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/22/2019
Experts use cutting-edge tech and bold engineering to build a record-breaking bridge that spans a deadly chasm in a remote section of the Himalayas. When completed, it will be the world's tallest railway bridge, towering almost 1,200 feet high.