What Caused The Explosion That Crippled Apollo 13?

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ค. 2024
  • 50 Years Ago Apollo 13 was preparing to launch on a mission that would become famous for the wrong reasons, 56 Hours into the mission an oxygen tank would explode, blowing the side of the service module and leaving the command module without power. However the details on what went wrong with the oxygen tank are often overlooked by stories which like to concentrate on the astronauts and the team in mission control during the rescue.
    So here's now a handful of mistakes and seemingly safe decisions turned an oxygen tank into a potential bomb, and put the mission in danger.
    More references on the subject:
    www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a13/A13_...
    history.nasa.gov/afj/ap13fj/p...
    history.nasa.gov/afj/ap13fj/3...
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ความคิดเห็น • 1K

  • @ilikeyourname4807
    @ilikeyourname4807 4 ปีที่แล้ว +355

    Recently picked up KSP and today I saw for the first time that they actually put "flying safe" into the loading screen. Just the best

    • @kerbodynamicx472
      @kerbodynamicx472 4 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      I like your name as well as “stirring oxygen tanks”

    • @TheEmeraldMenOfficial
      @TheEmeraldMenOfficial 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      That’s been there since at least 1.2 and I love it: every time I geek out a little and thank Scott for getting me into Kerbal Space Program through his videos.

    • @ryanhampson673
      @ryanhampson673 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The updates to the loading screen over the years have been great..Nust little Easter eggs to streamers and TH-camrs

  • @JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke
    @JeffreyBue_imtxsmoke 4 ปีที่แล้ว +545

    That is the most detailed explanation I've ever heard for the Apollo 13 failure. Great job, as usual Scott.

    • @puremaga17
      @puremaga17 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      How about one million + parts flying in close formation.. supplied by the lowest bidder 🐒

    • @glenkeating7333
      @glenkeating7333 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Yes. I was 9 years old when this happened and watched and covered any info that I could find at the time even though I was to young to fully understand it all.

    • @Allan_aka_RocKITEman
      @Allan_aka_RocKITEman 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@puremaga17 >>> A helicopter? 😜

    • @BedsitBob
      @BedsitBob 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      You should read Jim Lovell's book Lost Moon/Apollo 13.
      It explains in great detail, what happened with the tank, on the ground.

    • @sylvainforget2174
      @sylvainforget2174 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Before this, I thought I knew what happened. Turns out I am not too old to learn after all.

  • @cmonkey63
    @cmonkey63 4 ปีที่แล้ว +73

    "Sir, we dropped the highly critical module, lots of brittle components in there."
    "Nah, it'll be fine."

  • @DaveF.
    @DaveF. 4 ปีที่แล้ว +797

    One element to this story which is present in Lovell's book, but which you didn't mention - and is worth highlighting as it's yet another of the coincidences and minor failures that contributed to the explosion. When they were attempting to drain the tanks using the heaters whey were also monitoring the temperature within the tanks - this should have meant they would have noticed they were baking it at 500C... But they temperature sensors and monitor they were using was calibrates only to go up as high as the 27C they expected the thermostats to cut out at. So when the thermostats failed, and burned off the insulation - as far as the technicians could tell, the temperatures were precisely the 27C they were expecting - not the catastrophic 500C. If their thermometers could go higher than 27C, they'd have immediately know the tank was faulty.
    Just makes me thing of the Chernobyl series - "It's ... the maximum reading on low-limit dosimeters. They gave us the number they had...."

    • @gordonrichardson2972
      @gordonrichardson2972 4 ปีที่แล้ว +65

      Dave F Ouch! The law of unintended consequences.

    • @scottmanley
      @scottmanley  4 ปีที่แล้ว +280

      I know.... I knew this but forgot to mention it

    • @mennovanlavieren3885
      @mennovanlavieren3885 4 ปีที่แล้ว +36

      Always design your stuff as if it will be hacked by somebody.

    • @rsrt6910
      @rsrt6910 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      The temperature monitor only went up to 80F. They knew the temperature would be a little higher because they were using the heaters to remove the O2 but yeah, if they had a wider (higher) range on the monitor, they'd have seen that something was wrong with the tank shortly after the pad test.

    • @scottwatrous
      @scottwatrous 4 ปีที่แล้ว +51

      A good case for when testing things, choose a gauge with a range high enough to tell you if things have gone catastrophically wrong.

  • @Alexander_Sannikov
    @Alexander_Sannikov 4 ปีที่แล้ว +445

    i feel kinda proud for the humanity that we hit a million subscribers on this channel

    • @malcolmhardwick4258
      @malcolmhardwick4258 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      Thats what happens when you provide quality content !

    • @fabiosemino2214
      @fabiosemino2214 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Gradatim Ferociter is very appropriate in this case

    • @benverdel3073
      @benverdel3073 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I agree with you, although I miss the old rocket intro.

    • @TheExoplanetsChannel
      @TheExoplanetsChannel 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes !

    • @giovannifoulmouth7205
      @giovannifoulmouth7205 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      I feel like this channel deserves at least 100 million subs for such quality content, I find the fact that it only has one million very disappointing.

  • @AttilaAsztalos
    @AttilaAsztalos 4 ปีที่แล้ว +489

    Remember kids, redundancy is crucial in systems that are truly vital. Just remember to route all three of your redundant hydraulic control lines right next to each other so the occasional stray turbofan disc going trough your aircraft has a chance of slicing through all three of them in a single go!

    • @Cby0530
      @Cby0530 4 ปีที่แล้ว +98

      *DC10 references intensity*

    • @fridaycaliforniaa236
      @fridaycaliforniaa236 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Damn, that's exactly what I thought when I read the technical data books about all this stuff ! Happy to see I'm not hte only one !

    • @fridaycaliforniaa236
      @fridaycaliforniaa236 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@Cby0530 lol

    • @dalecomer5951
      @dalecomer5951 4 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      @@jjohnston94 It"s not funny. Hundreds of people died because of it. Worse than 737 MAX. I worked with one of the people responsible on a later project and it didn't seem to have hurt his career much.

    • @TheVillainInGlasses
      @TheVillainInGlasses 4 ปีที่แล้ว +51

      @@dalecomer5951 It's called gallows humor and it's funny

  • @wde4657
    @wde4657 4 ปีที่แล้ว +486

    The official report is really interesting. Any engineer should read it to understand just how simple things can add up to a huge problem. I always tell people they should read it but it’s pretty dry. This video is an excellent summary of events!

    • @markdavis2475
      @markdavis2475 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      WDE46 I love reading reports like that! Dry or not they are the true source of facts!

    • @svchineeljunk-riggedschoon4038
      @svchineeljunk-riggedschoon4038 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      If you like that kind of thing, check out some of the reports for marine and air accident investigations. I've read some from most english speaking countries, and they are enjoyable for the same reason, and the writing is usually very good, if formal.

    • @KaiHenningsen
      @KaiHenningsen 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@svchineeljunk-riggedschoon4038 Or rail accidents as well ... it's astonishing how many are just a sequence of error after error after error. Of course, what that means is that just one error fewer, and the accident wouldn't have happened.

    • @gdwnet
      @gdwnet 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      @@KaiHenningsen The US chemical safety board have some amazing videos here, like above, it's interesting how one small thing can quickly snowball into a disaster.

    • @markdavis2475
      @markdavis2475 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      SV Chineel, Junk-Rigged Schooner Sailing Hi! it’s funny your name is similar to one of the sailing channel i follow, i seem to follow a lot of sailing channels! Yes I quite often read the AAIB bulletins. The Air Safety Institute channel is very good.

  • @em21701
    @em21701 4 ปีที่แล้ว +116

    I worked for the company that built that thermostat that welded. The design engineer for the thermostat line had the same picture you showed on the wall of his cube as a reminder that limits are not to be exceeded. That example was used when customers would call and ask if they could be used at higher voltages/currents. Nearly all of the people who were working at that time had retired when I started, I wish I could have gotten first hand accounts of the aftermath.

    • @raven4k998
      @raven4k998 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      so it happened much slower then the movies shows it happening🤔🤔

    • @dalethelander3781
      @dalethelander3781 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      But, the cryotank in Apollo 13's SM was originally installed in Apollo 10 and removed for test anomalies. When it was refurbished and installed in 13, North American Rockwell neglected to swap out the thermostat. The voltage tolerances had changed since 10.
      I wonder if Lee Atwood tore that technician a new asshole.

    • @raven4k998
      @raven4k998 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@dalethelander3781 if not he should have

    • @highstimulation2497
      @highstimulation2497 ปีที่แล้ว

      dramatizations are like that. the movie "margin call" portays the 2008 financial crisis as if it happened overnight, when it reality it took months, I think.

    • @liam3284
      @liam3284 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It happened during 2007, there were a lot of articles detailing the house of cards that was starting to fall. It was the first time I read "trillion dollar loss"

  • @laimon001
    @laimon001 4 ปีที่แล้ว +514

    I can’t believe fire in space look exactly the same as that in Minecraft

    • @privateer_am
      @privateer_am 4 ปีที่แล้ว +91

      Where do you think Minecraft got their fire animation from?

    • @CaseyFinSF
      @CaseyFinSF 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@privateer_am That's a stupid statement there kid.

    • @Killbayne
      @Killbayne 4 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      @@CaseyFinSF
      are you joking?

    • @ToTheGAMES
      @ToTheGAMES 4 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      @@Killbayne Dont feed the troll :)

    • @bobsaggat
      @bobsaggat 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @@CaseyFinSF woosh

  • @ryanspence5831
    @ryanspence5831 4 ปีที่แล้ว +77

    10:08 everyone gangsta til service module 106 gets hit by a ghast

    • @davidchen1397
      @davidchen1397 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I thought I was the only one to notice that the fire is from minecraft textures lol

  • @jadegecko
    @jadegecko 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    8:50
    "Houston, we've had a problem here"
    Movie: Catastrophic explosion, shock from crew, drama
    Real life: 80's freeze frame and festive steel drum flourish

  • @AdurianJ
    @AdurianJ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +265

    Can't you go over all the changes in Apollo 14 that never gets talked about

    • @richardmalcolm1457
      @richardmalcolm1457 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      See @11:15 - he mentions these briefly.

    • @zoltanposfai3451
      @zoltanposfai3451 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      ++Apollo

    • @georgeemil3618
      @georgeemil3618 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Did they redesign the CO2 filter assemblies to be the same shape and size?

    • @kallewirsch2263
      @kallewirsch2263 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@georgeemil3618
      As far as I know: No.
      The Apollo hardware was a steady flow of already built hardware. You do not want to include major structural changes as long as you absolutely do need them.
      A13 has shown that it is possible to build an adaptor even when in flight. If I had to make the decision, I would say: good enough.If you absoultely insist, construct a prefessional adaptor and put that on the packing list, but otherwise: don't change a working system unless there is a good reason to do so. After all this was in accident, which should not have happend in the first place.

    • @dalethelander3781
      @dalethelander3781 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@kallewirsch2263 Major structural changes were made to the SM for the J missions to accomodate the SIM bay.

  • @rosengrenj9
    @rosengrenj9 4 ปีที่แล้ว +54

    I can only imagine what the astronauts would have been thinking when the service module blew out! Disasters in space are scary stuff. Kudos to NASA for bringing everyone back safely! This mission is probably the most incredible point in the entire space program. Thank you Scott for explaining how it all happened in a way that's so easy to understand!

    • @TheNoonish
      @TheNoonish 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Well, their immediate response was, "Huh? What was that?" There's a few different things that can cause jolts in the spacecraft and in reality, it took them quite a while to begin recognizing the severity of this issue. They had been dealing with the problem for about 90 minutes before they realized that the command module was beyond saving and started powering up the Lunar Module.

    • @rsprockets7846
      @rsprockets7846 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Trumann sent north American. Rockwell a gag bill for towing the CSM back from space

  • @joevignolor4u949
    @joevignolor4u949 4 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    There was a temperature gauge on the launch pad to display the temperature inside the O2 tank heater assembly. During the boil off process the temperature inside the tank heater got up to more than 500F but unfortunately the temperature gauge only went up to 80F. The gauge was pegged all the way up to the top at 80 and so no one realized that the temperature inside the tank heater was up so high that it was damaging the insulation on the wires.

    • @scottmanley
      @scottmanley  4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      That's something I forgot to mention

    • @CaseyFinSF
      @CaseyFinSF 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@scottmanley Giving credit where credit is due - nice Scott👍🏼😄

    • @opl500
      @opl500 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      I guess look on the bright side - the o2 tank could've exploded during launch to orbit instead of afterwards when it did

    • @joevignolor4u949
      @joevignolor4u949 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@opl500 It wouldn't have exploded that early in the mission anyway. It was too early to stir the tanks. From what I've read the latest in the mission that it could have exploded and the crew might still have had a chance to survive was the beginning of powered descent. Once a sizable portion of the fuel in the LM's descent stage was used up they wouldn't have had any way to get back out of lunar orbit.

    • @rnds76b
      @rnds76b ปีที่แล้ว

      @@joevignolor4u949 I'm confused...what has the amount of fuel in the LM got to do with the O2 Service Module tank exploding???

  • @dickvercouteren1424
    @dickvercouteren1424 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    The LOX tanks were made at a Beechcraft plant north of Boulder ,Colorado. I knew one of the engineers and he gave exactly the same explanation. Well done it is rare these days for any media to get a story right by doing their homework such as you have. Well done Sir !

  • @mvmmotovlogmusic2815
    @mvmmotovlogmusic2815 4 ปีที่แล้ว +50

    Scott is a valuable human resource.
    Live Safe
    mVm

    • @kerbodynamicx472
      @kerbodynamicx472 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      mVm MotoVlogMusic You mean “fly safe”

  • @bodugok
    @bodugok 4 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    wow that was A lot of detail that I have never heard before. Great video Scott thank you and stay safe.

  • @blainedunlap4242
    @blainedunlap4242 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I was a kid, was all over ever aspect of Apollo. Kepy an eye on it over the years. I am now 60. NEVER have I heard any detailed explanation of what happened, how and why. Also. You are scary smart. You smoothly went through every engineering detail like you built the tank and system. You have filled in an important blank of what happened in my youth. Very Impressed.

  • @miriamn9657
    @miriamn9657 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    One design deficiency was also that both oxygen (and hydrogen) tanks fed the fuel cells over a common manifold. No isolation valves, no check valves. You have one leak anywhere in the system, you will loose everything. If there had been the possibility to isolate the faulty tank, the outcome would've been less dangerous. Yes, the moon would've been lost. But there would've been enough oxygen in the good tank to return home. They later changed that for the J- missions and AFAIK the space shuttle not only had check valves between the tanks and the manifold, but also the possibility to switch to 'split plant' operation, i.e. feeding each FC from its 'own' tank and isolating them from each other. I still don't get why they didn't implement that in the first place. They used statistical methods to determine how often a system would fail in a given number of times, but overlooked that interconnecting independend units increases the failure rate. Strange...

    • @THE-michaelmyers
      @THE-michaelmyers ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You would think NASA would have learned about planning for equipment isolation after Gemini 8. That has always bothered me.

  • @AttilaTheHun333333
    @AttilaTheHun333333 4 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    Bad teflon ruined my morning eggs so many times...no wonder they had problems with it on Apollo.

    • @johncamp7679
      @johncamp7679 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Not supposed to use metal utensils. And I’m only guessing that’s what caused it.

  • @phasm42
    @phasm42 4 ปีที่แล้ว +83

    "But at 50+ atmospheres of pure oxygen..." yeesh

    • @Kenionatus
      @Kenionatus 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Doesn't seem like a highly unusual partial pressure for oxygen by itself. Diving equipment has a partial oxygen pressure (gas mix pressure x concentration) of 40bar when filled with air. But running electrical equipment in that environment is a different thing, of course...

    • @Nghilifa
      @Nghilifa 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@Kenionatus Air & oxygen are not the same though.

    • @JP-uk9uc
      @JP-uk9uc 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm not exactly familiar with the explosive properties of pure oxygen in liquid form but I imagine it's extremely dangerous.

    • @lawrencequave8691
      @lawrencequave8691 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      50+ atmospheres would not be 50+ psi but 50 x 14.7 psi, right? Somebody explain.

    • @WearyKirin
      @WearyKirin 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@lawrencequave8691 1 atmosphere =1 BAR = 14.7 PSI

  • @DerekG
    @DerekG 3 ปีที่แล้ว +69

    I’m surprised ground wasn’t monitoring heater current when they decided to use the heater to drain O2 tank 2. If they had been they would have seen that the heater was not cycling as it should have been, and probably caught the problem there. Alternatively, as has been mentioned elsewhere in the comment section, if the tank thermometer read above 80 degrees that most likely also would have worked to catch the problem. Of course with the benefit of hindsight it’s easy to be critical. The steps the crew and ground support took after the accident occurred were nothing short of incredible, and really spoke to how well they worked together and knew their spacecraft.

    • @AlexBesogonov
      @AlexBesogonov 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Current is not that easy to monitor when your ADCs weight at least 300 grams.

    • @TheCrackedFirebird
      @TheCrackedFirebird 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The thermostat wasn't able to read above 80.

    • @souswodaem1
      @souswodaem1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@TheCrackedFirebird I feel like I have heard this before but with radiation... Not great, not terrible.

    • @DaveF.
      @DaveF. 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@TheCrackedFirebird Why would anyone need a thermostat to go higher in a cryogenic tank?? Of course, what's not really been said by others is that it's remarkable that the tank didn't halt and catch fire duing the draining and refilling. It's a real testimate to just how astonishingly well built the damn thing was that it managed to get as far as going into space. It's just a bummer that's the time when it choose to go kaboom. Equally astonishing is how well built the rest of the CM/SM that it survived the explosion and that it was able to be restarted after several days in a deep cold state - frankly the most frightening line in the movie after "we're venting something into space' is 'like driving a toaster through a car-wash'.

    • @DaveF.
      @DaveF. 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @Bobb Grimley Thanks Bobb, glad you're out there checking the internet for mistakes. Funnily enough, my spellchecker tells me that there is no such word as 'Bobb' either. Just in case you want to let the person who named you that they made a spelling mistake too.

  • @scoldingwhisper
    @scoldingwhisper 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    i never thought all those years ago when i was trying to get into orbit on the free version of KSP that i would still be watching your videos in the next decade

  • @nazamroth8427
    @nazamroth8427 4 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    I challenge you to find an orkier space repair job than Apollo 13.
    "Oh no, vital systems of the ship blew up!"
    "Don't worry, we have some cardboard, plastic bags, and duct tape! We will be fine!"

    • @yes_head
      @yes_head 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      You do realize those are two separate problems they had to deal with, right?

    • @nazamroth8427
      @nazamroth8427 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@yes_head I was also talking about orks. How much do you think I cared about precision in that instance?

    • @cycoticmongoose
      @cycoticmongoose 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Nazamroth oi yu dum gitz! Da air fingy blowed up! Git tha fixer tape n baggies

    • @codymoe4986
      @codymoe4986 ปีที่แล้ว

      You must not care about "precision" at all, given you misspelled "orcs", not to mention, you have them consulting with NASA on how to fix engineering problems during spaceflight....
      Lame attempt at humor...
      Try again.

    • @thephantomthieves7264
      @thephantomthieves7264 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@codymoe4986I believe they’re referring to the Orks in Warhammer…

  • @DarxusC
    @DarxusC 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    I just finally watched the movie yesterday, because of you mentioning it. And I was really curious about this, of course. Excellent timing.

  • @yonmoore
    @yonmoore 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I already knew what caused the explosion on Apollo 13 but I also knew that I'd learn a bunch of new and interesting details by clicking on this video because it's Scott Manly!

  • @paulhorn2665
    @paulhorn2665 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Well, I never really understood what was the cause of the explosion. Now I know, after 20 yrs! Thank you Mr. Manley!

    • @greggv8
      @greggv8 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      The cause was bloody stupid penny pinching. When the damage to the tank was discovered, it should have immediately been tagged as defective then cut apart to see what all had been affected by the impact.

  • @TroyRubert
    @TroyRubert 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I was literally just looking for more info on this yesterday. Like a video of what stirring the tanks was like.

    • @i.p.knightly149
      @i.p.knightly149 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Ya, I thought they just shook them up and down.

  • @mgutkowski
    @mgutkowski 4 ปีที่แล้ว +85

    Lovell/Kluger's explanation of this in the book of Apollo13 is almost as complete but contained one extra titbit you didn't mention: The pressure gauge.
    When the thermostats stuck shut (ohm's law - double the voltage, double the current, quadruple the power) to boil the LOx off, the pressure gauge should have alerted them that it was way high. The problem was the gauge topped out in normal use meaning the most basic way they could have detected this failure eluded them.
    The lesson here stands true in anything with a gauge: Always make sure the gauge can read higher than you expect it ever to need to!
    Thus endeth lesson 37 in the gospel of engineering according to me....

    • @Nighthawke70
      @Nighthawke70 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Lovell did also mention they duplicated the whole thing on one of the test flight articles. I hope they didn't throw away the recordings of that event.

    • @211212112
      @211212112 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Captain G should take an engineer to realize this tidbit. But it takes an engineer to reason his/her way out of using an overly capable gauge

    • @zchen27
      @zchen27 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      So "Not bad, not terrible" strikes again.

    • @justin2308
      @justin2308 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Exactly right. Michael Crichton actually took inspiration from Apollo 13, I think, in the Jurassic Park novel: The motion sensors were programmed to make sure none of the dinosaurs had escaped so it topped out at the number there was supposed to be, but they also should’ve programmed them to make sure there weren’t more.

    • @Jonascord
      @Jonascord 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Let's not forget the bean counter, down stream, who gets a deal on a cheaper gauge...

  • @BruceRobertson
    @BruceRobertson 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Thanks, Scott. I really enjoyed the detail and clarity.

  • @thirstfast1025
    @thirstfast1025 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I always love the pictures/videos you're able to find to compliment what you're explaining!

  • @n1k0n_
    @n1k0n_ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Scott you're just awesome. Thanks for going into such detail and helping us forget our current situation.

  • @CNC-Time-Lapse
    @CNC-Time-Lapse 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    I don't always test my rockets. But when I do, I do it in space.

    • @commiccannon592
      @commiccannon592 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      George D. Marsack hopefully you mean in ksp

  • @RogerWilco1
    @RogerWilco1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Just started watching but had to get my up vote and comment in to help you in the algos since the video is only 30 minutes old.
    .... and this is one of my favorite of your videos. Love this deep dive!

  • @randycrew
    @randycrew 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Scott, thanks for this video (and all of your others) a great description of the events. Well done and easy to understand

  • @dennisk5818
    @dennisk5818 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Fantastic explanation, Scott. It's good to hear what really happened; that it wasn't just a 'spark' in the cryotank.

    • @gregjones3660
      @gregjones3660 ปีที่แล้ว

      A spark in the cryo tank would been catastrophic?…

  • @justice4024
    @justice4024 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Най-краткото и най-точно обяснение на случилото се с Аполо 13 .
    Както винаги страхотно видео .
    Respect.

  • @JeffSharonLive
    @JeffSharonLive 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I have no engineering background at all and found this engaging and fascinating, not to mention well-explained. Scott, thank you for your service to the rest of us who love space (and space history) but didn’t go to MIT.

  • @MarkoVukovic0
    @MarkoVukovic0 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Scott, congratulations on 1 million subs, you deserve it. Thank you for this outstanding channel!

  • @Galactis1
    @Galactis1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    VERY well researched Scott. GOOD JOB!

  • @spxur
    @spxur 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    when he adds the minecraft fire you know hes cultured

  • @b1laxson
    @b1laxson 4 ปีที่แล้ว +58

    Ground work: Empties to 92%
    History: Close enough, its not like this is rocket science.
    😏

    • @St0RM33
      @St0RM33 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      They should have replaced the tank right now and there. Who ever made the decision to proceed with that tank is a retard.

    • @St0RM33
      @St0RM33 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @get to the Choppaa really?!? wtf

    • @dalecomer5951
      @dalecomer5951 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @get to the Choppaa And the flight manager that didn"t want to bother her boss at home on a Saturday when they thought they might have a problem from the external tank foam hit on the wing of Columbia and then sleep on it over the weekend while neglecting to inform the flight crew of their concern.

    • @JP-uk9uc
      @JP-uk9uc 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      The faults of man. I believe political and financial pressure on the launch had a role to play in all this. Given the incredible complexity of the build, I imagine there were only a few that could do it without damaging something else.... But then again most engineers, managers and others think those of us who turn a wrench are replaceable; "whatever you were doing can be done by somebody else" attitude. What's clear to me is someone knew there was a problem with the tank and chose to rely upon the backup procedure for the primary.

  • @johnwatson3948
    @johnwatson3948 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This is great thanks - feel like I’ve been waiting 50 years for a good explanation like this.

  • @jackvernian7779
    @jackvernian7779 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Scott, thank you for keeping me entertained in these times of isolation! Fly safe.

  • @AllanDeal
    @AllanDeal 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Thanks for the great videos in are extremely boring lockdown. fly safe people

  • @jasongibbs6423
    @jasongibbs6423 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    I never really thought about the fact that the failure on the O2 tank was in fact caused by a piece of hardware that was later determined to be unnecessary.

    • @1943vermork
      @1943vermork 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Jason Gibbs Wrong, the fan/agitator wasn’t necessary, the heating element was still required to maintain the pressure at super critical equilibrium

  • @GiovanniEsposito5
    @GiovanniEsposito5 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Wow! Never found an explaining that was so detailed and well presented! Great job as always!

  • @nakfan
    @nakfan 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This channel might end up being my favorite channel on space and one of my top 3 channels on TH-cam in all categories. Definately the best walk thru of Apollo 13's tank issue. Thanks.

  • @EnglishMike
    @EnglishMike 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    About 30 years ago, when I was working for IBM in the UK, they had an all-site meeting at a local convention center, and the guest speaker was none other than Jim Lovell, commander of Apollo 13. Whatever IBM had paid him to be there, it was money well spent. He gave an enthralling and inspiring account of the mission and the entire audience was hanging on every word.

  • @wheelitzr2
    @wheelitzr2 4 ปีที่แล้ว +52

    Wait so the tank failed a test on the ground and they just said "send it"?

    • @evanr32
      @evanr32 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      and even before that they were fine with using a suspected damaged ox tank

    • @CNC-Time-Lapse
      @CNC-Time-Lapse 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      .. and it failed multiple tests. lol

    • @VaporheadATC
      @VaporheadATC 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Same could be said for the Challenger. These folks are under such immense pressure to launch or pure ignorance, they jeopardize everyone's lives.

    • @thomasfholland
      @thomasfholland 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      VaporheadATC Yeah NASA has way too many managers in management!

    • @maxk4324
      @maxk4324 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      It's easy to criticize in retrospect, not so much when you have an entire multi billion dollar government program and agency breathing down your neck and the eyes of the world watching your every move with bated breath.

  • @davecawthorn2234
    @davecawthorn2234 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Scott, that’s the best explanation of this event and the lead up to it. You should be really proud of your work. Many thanks

  • @lukerees281
    @lukerees281 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Saw the Apollo 13 capsule at Hutchinson Kansas. Absolutely insane detail

  • @michaelbuckers
    @michaelbuckers 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Imagine damaging life-critical equipment and then putting it into crewed space vehicle anyway. What is this, soviet union QA standards? Pretty sure they had better. Geez.

    • @Alex23092709
      @Alex23092709 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It was nothing personal, just business

    • @211212112
      @211212112 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      EXACTLY

    • @Vlasko60
      @Vlasko60 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Imagine Apollo 1 where everyone died.

    • @igvc1876
      @igvc1876 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Well, Soviet Union/Russia had the same number of deadly incidents in their crewed space program with an almost order of magnitude more launches.

  • @goodclover
    @goodclover 4 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    Ah yes, enslaved oxygen breaking free.

    • @MichaelDeHaven
      @MichaelDeHaven 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Thank you, for the laugh.👍

    • @Jay-ln1co
      @Jay-ln1co 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      "The only thing we have to lose is our carbohydrate chains!"

  • @erikpeterson1989
    @erikpeterson1989 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks Scott! This was one your most interesting videos - can't wait for the next one!

  • @user-px1wj2uv3r
    @user-px1wj2uv3r 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video Scott! I love getting ready in the morning and getting my space fix all at once!

  • @opl500
    @opl500 4 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    I guess it's like aviation - fail to dot enough i's or cross enough t's and you're hating life.

    • @bumrocky
      @bumrocky 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      but it's always the missed dot on the lower case j that causes the REAL problems

    • @moejoe987654321
      @moejoe987654321 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@bumrocky Or the missed bar over the R

    • @igvc1876
      @igvc1876 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@moejoe987654321 which rocket was that? I forget..

    • @moejoe987654321
      @moejoe987654321 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@igvc1876 The Mariner 1, I think Sotty boy has a vid on it

  • @nczioox1116
    @nczioox1116 4 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    Its because Tom Hanks was on that mission

    • @MarkTheMorose
      @MarkTheMorose 4 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      I thought he was landing an airliner in the Hudson River that day.

    • @jackmcslay
      @jackmcslay 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Never put Tom Hanks on something involves flight, or you might end up stranded on a deserted island, having to land your plane on a river, getting stuck on the airport because your home country no longer exists or almost dying in outer space.

    • @thePronto
      @thePronto 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@jackmcslay don't forget cargo ships. In fact, don't let Tom Hanks be in charge of anything.

    • @mattmanyam
      @mattmanyam 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      What happens if we put Tom Hanks and Matt Damon in the same movie?? (Again?)

    • @buckstarchaser2376
      @buckstarchaser2376 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Wasn't he in Australia filming a movie on a corona-like virus when he caught the corona virus?

  • @robertgift
    @robertgift 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Well done! Detailed and informative with nice illustrations. Thank you, Scott.

  • @adrianshingler9783
    @adrianshingler9783 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for that Scott, superb detail as ever!

  • @eliotmansfield
    @eliotmansfield 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The BBC are doing a podcast series on this called ‘13 minutes to the moon’.

    • @621Lafayette
      @621Lafayette 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w13xttx2/episodes/player

    • @zapfanzapfan
      @zapfanzapfan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Cool, that will keep me occupied for a few hours, thank you!

    • @dwmac2010
      @dwmac2010 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@621Lafayette Yes, agreed this is an excellent podcast. Season 2 is Apollo 13. Season 1 is the moon landing. Both are very good and highly recommended.

  • @Jack-Cabinetry
    @Jack-Cabinetry 4 ปีที่แล้ว +50

    My wife is supercritical, she puts me under immense pressure...

    • @giovannifoulmouth7205
      @giovannifoulmouth7205 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      hey, as long as there's no surface tension you're good

    • @Vlasko60
      @Vlasko60 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Check your wiring.

  • @scottwegner4232
    @scottwegner4232 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Scott, your video is the best technical explanation of the Apollo 13 oxygen tank failure I've ever seen. Thank you.

  • @prof.hectorholbrook4692
    @prof.hectorholbrook4692 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    A great further (more detailed) insight into something I've been "studying" on & off for about a year now, out of total fascination for the Causation Factor(s) of the explosion. Thanks Scot. Great work.

  • @7pH
    @7pH 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I love how you say mun instead of moon.

  • @bruhdabones
    @bruhdabones 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    10:10 Minecraft fire animation

  • @joshmellon390
    @joshmellon390 ปีที่แล้ว

    I keep re-watching videos that I know I've liked, and finding that I have to like them again. All your videos too.

  • @jhyland87
    @jhyland87 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    This was much more detailed than most other videos. Thanks!

  • @alvarov6775
    @alvarov6775 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    What a coincidence, just recently watched the 90's film starring Tom Hanks about this incident.

    • @jimmyjames6318
      @jimmyjames6318 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      You mean the alleged pedophile?

  • @eisenklad
    @eisenklad 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    are you going to do all the tragedies that NASA/Roscosmos had on their respective anniversaries?

    • @RogerWilco1
      @RogerWilco1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      eisenklad That would be great!

    • @GoldSrc_
      @GoldSrc_ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Challenger is still too much for me, it makes me sad and it pisses me off because people could have been saved that day, just like Columbia ;_;

    • @eisenklad
      @eisenklad 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@GoldSrc_ i was thinking of Gus Grissom/Apollo 1 . i'm not even American but that death was pure horror.
      he avoided drowning when the hatch to mercury capsule blew off... only to die in the gas that keeps people alive while on the launchpad

    • @GoldSrc_
      @GoldSrc_ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@eisenklad Yeah, Apollo 1 was horrible, and the capsule had lots of bad design choices, like a hatch that opens inwards and held close with latches, which made impossible to open with the higher pressure inside as well.

  • @donmoore7785
    @donmoore7785 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for bringing these details to our attention. Great job.

  • @ericsbuds
    @ericsbuds 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    fantastic. i love learning about this kind of stuff. love all the photos, too. thanks for the great video!

  • @johncheresna
    @johncheresna 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I was in an audience with where Jim Lovell was the speaker. True or not he said that they found that someone had dropped one of the components during construction and thats what caused the problem.

    • @gordonrichardson2972
      @gordonrichardson2972 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      John Cheresna Lots of holes lined up for the problem to occur!

  • @EwingTaiwan
    @EwingTaiwan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    So if the oxygen is in a supercritical state, how do you measure the fullness of it?

    • @shrikedecil
      @shrikedecil 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Both pressure and temperature measurements work as usual, leading to the usual routes to calculate how much gas is present.

    • @tomf3150
      @tomf3150 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      And mass.

    • @EwingTaiwan
      @EwingTaiwan 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Methods that can measure mass is quite impractical in space I would presume. To use gas formulas would implies that one needs to measure the density directly?

    • @nunya___
      @nunya___ 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Temperature and pressure are commonly used to determine operating mass even in situation where there are mixtures of vapor and liquid. Or even mixtures of differing gasses.

    • @EwingTaiwan
      @EwingTaiwan 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah I got a brainfart there, totally got the ideal gas law backwards. Given a fixed volume, one DO get to calculate density directly from temperature and pressure. My thermaldynamics teacher would probably strangle me for that lol.

  • @1ronmoore1
    @1ronmoore1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A very clear, enlightening video. Thanks, Scott!

  • @pjimmbojimmbo1990
    @pjimmbojimmbo1990 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Good Breakdown of the Sequence of Events that led to the Tank Failure.

  • @goodclover
    @goodclover 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Comments: 8
    I can count at least 23

    • @nunya___
      @nunya___ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Prove it.

    • @TheSadButMadLad
      @TheSadButMadLad 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It's called caching. TH-cam doesn't keep all stats up to date for everyone equally.

  • @DaveCompton5150
    @DaveCompton5150 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    First!

  • @jamesdavison6290
    @jamesdavison6290 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    An incredible story with the engineering details I always wanted. Scott, you are a master!

  • @matthewk8296
    @matthewk8296 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Clearest explanation of this problem I have ever heard.

  • @markwilliamson9199
    @markwilliamson9199 ปีที่แล้ว

    In the 80’s I attended a 5 day Configuration Management course for military hardware. Th presenter was American who was a CM manager on Apollo. He claimed that the burning of the insulation was effectively a CM failure, as the tanks had been changed, but the test procedure was one version behind, and had put too much voltage in. He claimed the design change made the insulation thinner. Your explanation is much more detailed than his!

  • @middlecam
    @middlecam 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Brilliant summary Scott!

  • @GDAY-GAMES
    @GDAY-GAMES 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    That was an excellent explanation of events. Thanks Scott!

  • @Firebrand55
    @Firebrand55 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Excellent.....no waffle, no padding....just concise, clear explanation. At the time, I listened/watched every minute of the drama. At one time, real doubts of survival were intimated, and we all held our breath. Mission Control's finest hour.

  • @davidboyle1902
    @davidboyle1902 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    An excellent rundown that I've been waiting to hear since the words "We've got a problem" were spoken. Thank you filling that long standing gap.

  • @markmcculfor6113
    @markmcculfor6113 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    this is the best explanation I've ever heard, this is amazing! Thanks Scott!!

  • @genelomas332
    @genelomas332 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Always great information from this channel.. thank you Scott. 😁👍

  • @avj4691
    @avj4691 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video with detailed explanation. Thanks!

  • @markhatch1267
    @markhatch1267 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for a great explanation of something I have wondered about my whole life. I was a little boy when it happened. Everything I have heard about it since then has left me with more questions than answers. Thank you for finally clearing things up.

  • @prof.hectorholbrook4692
    @prof.hectorholbrook4692 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Yes, that's the most comprehensive account of the catalogue of failures that led to the catastrophic explosion of that tank on Apollo13. Well presented.

  • @MkmeOrg
    @MkmeOrg 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Such a fascinating recount/explanation. Like any accident- there are almost always a myriad of small errors leading up to the incident. Very cool

  • @richardhoff5255
    @richardhoff5255 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    That was so detailed and informative. Thank you!!!

  • @MrMoriarek
    @MrMoriarek 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Is it only me who's Scott's 'Fly safe' - really makes me comforting ;)

  • @rohandrummer
    @rohandrummer 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great work Scott! Love your work👍🏼

  • @AeroLowdown
    @AeroLowdown 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another fantastic and informative video, thanks Scott!

  • @norcalendurorider7458
    @norcalendurorider7458 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Great video Scott! Love your channel

  • @nicejungle
    @nicejungle 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks a lot !
    I've read a lot about the origin of this explosion but the all process remains unclear to me.
    Your explainations are awesome.
    Fly safe !

  • @andresmlinar
    @andresmlinar 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Always excellent videos! Thanks!

  • @walterpark8824
    @walterpark8824 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    What a great story! And told in such elegant detail. Thanks, again.

  • @rocketman48
    @rocketman48 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    another great video and so informative,well done and thanks Scott.Bill