The Space Shuttle’s Luckiest Escape

Summary

The video script recounts a perilous space mission where the Space Shuttle Columbia, carrying the Chandra Observatory Telescope, faced two critical malfunctions. Despite a leaking engine and an electrical issue, sheer luck and a fortuitous sensor error in the backup computer balanced the oxygen consumption, averting disaster. The shuttle reached orbit and successfully deployed the telescope, highlighting the importance of resilience and adaptability in space travel.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The space shuttle was on a perilous journey with multiple life-threatening issues starting almost immediately after liftoff.
• 🔥 Fuel leakage from the right engine began due to a metal pin dislodging and damaging the engine nozzle, causing liquid hydrogen to escape.
• 💻 Engine control computers went offline due to an electrical supply failure, which was unrelated to the fuel leak but contributed to the mission's danger.
• 🛰️ The mission carried the Chandra Observatory Telescope, the heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle, which strained its weight capacity.
• ⚙️ Engine 2019, with a history of cracks in its liquid oxygen posts, was used despite the risks, highlighting a cost-saving measure by NASA.
• 🛑 The shuttle's sensors failed to detect the fuel leak, but they did notice a lower chamber pressure, leading to an automatic increase in liquid oxygen flow.
• 🔌 An electrical short circuit caused by a worn wire against a sharp screw set off warnings, mistakenly indicating a problem with the fuel cells.
• 🔄 The loss of the backup computer for the right engine and the main computer for the center engine led to an unexpected balancing act in engine control.
• ⚖️ The faulty pressure sensor on the right engine's backup computer inadvertently helped by signaling a high-pressure reading, reducing the flow of liquid oxygen.
• 🎯 Despite the initial issues, the shuttle reached orbit with minimal speed variance, allowing for successful deployment of the Chandra Telescope.
• 🌐 The mission's outcome was a testament to luck and the interplay of multiple malfunctions that, by coincidence, prevented a complete disaster.

Q & A

What was the dangerous journey that the space shuttle was about to embark on?

The space shuttle was on a mission to launch the Chandra Observatory Telescope, which was the largest and heaviest payload ever carried by a shuttle, putting the mission over the weight limit and leading to a series of critical issues.

What were the two major problems the space shuttle faced shortly after liftoff?

The two major problems were a fuel leak from the right engine due to a metal pin puncturing the engine nozzle, and an unrelated electrical issue that caused a short circuit, knocking out some instruments and engine control computers.

Why was the space shuttle's right engine burning through liquid oxygen too quickly?

The right engine was burning through liquid oxygen too quickly because the onboard computers automatically started pumping more liquid oxygen into the engine to compensate for the lower chamber pressure caused by the fuel leak, which went undetected by the sensors.

How did the electrical problem inadvertently help the space shuttle's situation?

The electrical problem caused a short circuit that led to the failure of the backup computer for the right engine and the main computer for the center engine. This resulted in the center engine using less liquid oxygen than normal, which balanced out the excessive consumption by the right engine and prevented the shuttle from running out of liquid oxygen.

What was the significance of the Chandra Observatory Telescope being the heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle?

The weight of the Chandra Observatory Telescope required the mission to be adjusted to stay within the shuttle's weight limit, including reducing the crew size, using a lighter external tank, and swapping out main engines for lighter ones, which contributed to the engine issues encountered during the mission.

What was the role of the small metal pin in the right engine's fuel leak?

The small metal pin was placed to deactivate the cracked liquid oxygen posts in the engine. However, during the launch, one of these pins worked its way loose and shot into the combustion chamber, puncturing the engine nozzle and causing a fuel leak.

How did the shuttle's onboard computers respond to the lower chamber pressure in the right engine?

The onboard computers automatically increased the flow of liquid oxygen into the right engine to restore the chamber pressure to the correct level, inadvertently exacerbating the fuel leak issue.

What was the impact of the electrical short circuit on the shuttle's engine control?

The electrical short circuit caused by the exposed wire rubbing against an overtightened screw led to the loss of the backup computer for the right engine and the main computer for the center engine, which affected the engine control and contributed to the balance of liquid oxygen consumption.

How did the malfunctioning pressure sensor in the backup computer influence the engine's operation?

The malfunctioning pressure sensor in the backup computer sent an abnormally high pressure reading, which, without the main computer to counterbalance it, caused the engine to reduce the flow of liquid oxygen, thus inadvertently compensating for the excessive consumption by the right engine.

What was the final outcome of the space shuttle's mission despite the challenges faced?

Despite the challenges, the space shuttle was able to reach orbit and successfully deploy the Chandra Telescope. The main engines were not needed for the rest of the mission, allowing the shuttle and its crew to return to Earth safely.

What promotional offer was mentioned in the script for Incogni?

Incogni offered a service to protect users from hackers and spam emails by reaching out to marketing agencies to delete personal data. The script mentioned a promotional discount of 60% off for new users who visit incogni.com/primalspace and use the code PRIMALSPACE.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Space Shuttle's Near-Disaster Journey

The script recounts a perilous space shuttle mission carrying the Chandra Observatory Telescope, which was the heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle. The mission faced two critical issues: a fuel leak in the right engine due to a metal pin puncturing the engine nozzle, and an electrical problem that caused a short circuit. Despite these challenges, the crew remained unaware of the danger. The fuel leak was undetected by sensors, but the lower chamber pressure triggered the onboard computers to pump more liquid oxygen, inadvertently increasing the risk of running out of oxygen before reaching orbit. The electrical issue, however, inadvertently balanced the oxygen consumption by causing the center engine to use less liquid oxygen than normal, thus preventing a complete disaster. The mission's success was attributed to sheer luck and the miraculous cancellation of problems, allowing the shuttle to reach orbit and deploy the telescope successfully.

05:04

🔌 The Unforeseen Electrical Issue That Saved the Mission

This paragraph delves into the details of an electrical issue that, counterintuitively, played a crucial role in saving the space shuttle. A short circuit caused by an exposed wire rubbing against a sharp screw led to several instruments going offline, including the engine control computers. This resulted in the right engine, already leaking fuel, losing its backup computer, and the center engine losing its main computer. The backup computer's faulty pressure sensor, which was incorrectly reading high pressure, caused the engine to reduce the liquid oxygen intake. This adjustment fortuitously compensated for the excessive oxygen consumption of the right engine, balancing the overall oxygen usage and allowing the shuttle to reach orbit. The mission concluded with the successful deployment of the Chandra Telescope and a safe return of the shuttle and its crew to Earth.

Keywords

💡Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle refers to the reusable spacecraft that was used by NASA for human spaceflight missions. In the video's context, it is the vehicle experiencing the dangerous journey, with specific mention of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The theme revolves around the challenges faced during its launch and the miraculous circumstances that prevented a catastrophic failure.

💡Chandra Observatory Telescope

The Chandra Observatory Telescope is a large and heavy X-ray observatory that was carried by the Space Shuttle. It is significant in the script as the heaviest payload ever launched by the shuttle, which contributed to the mission being over the weight limit and necessitated various adjustments to the shuttle's configuration.

💡Liquid Oxygen

Liquid oxygen is a crucial component for rocket propulsion, used as an oxidizer to burn the hydrogen in the shuttle's engines. In the video, the leaking of liquid oxygen from the right engine and the subsequent consumption imbalance are central to the narrative of the shuttle's perilous situation.

💡Combustion Chamber

The combustion chamber is the part of a rocket engine where fuel and oxidizer combine and ignite to produce thrust. The script describes how a metal pin punctured a hole in the engine nozzle, which is part of the combustion process, potentially leading to a catastrophic failure.

💡Engine Nozzle

The engine nozzle is a part of the rocket engine that accelerates and directs the exhaust gases to produce thrust. The video explains how the engine nozzle, made up of over 1,000 thin tubes, was damaged, which could have led to the melting and destruction of the vehicle.

💡Pressure Sensor

A pressure sensor is a device that measures the pressure within a system, such as a rocket engine. In the script, a faulty pressure sensor on the backup computer sends an incorrect high-pressure reading, which unexpectedly helps balance the oxygen consumption in the engines.

💡Electrical Supply Failure

An electrical supply failure refers to the loss of power to a system or component. In the video, such a failure knocks the engine control computers offline and also causes a short circuit, which indirectly helps to prevent the shuttle from running out of liquid oxygen.

💡Short Circuit

A short circuit is an abnormal connection between two points in an electrical circuit, causing a high current flow. The script describes how a short circuit, caused by a worn wire and a sharp screw, leads to the shutdown of certain instruments and indirectly contributes to the shuttle's survival.

💡Fuel Cells

Fuel cells are devices that convert chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with an oxidizing agent. In the video, a false warning about fuel cells is triggered due to the electrical supply failure, which initially suggests a serious problem but is later revealed to be a non-issue.

💡Orbit

Orbit refers to the curved path of an object moving around a point in space, typically under the influence of gravity. The script discusses the shuttle's struggle to reach orbit due to the imbalance in oxygen consumption and the eventual success in achieving orbit with the help of the OMS engines.

💡Incogni

Incogni is mentioned in the script as a sponsor and is a service that protects users from hackers and spam emails by reaching out to marketing agencies to delete personal data. Although not directly related to the main theme of the video, it is used as a promotional segment within the script.

Highlights

Space shuttle embarks on one of its most perilous journeys with immediate fuel leak and engine control computer failure.

The crew faces a catastrophic failure risk, being unaware of the critical issues with the shuttle's right engine.

Despite two major problems, a fortunate sequence of events saves the crew from disaster.

The shuttle's payload bay carries the Chandra Observatory Telescope, the heaviest payload ever, exceeding the shuttle's weight limit.

Weight reduction measures include a smaller crew, a lighter external tank, and the use of lighter engines.

Engine 2019, with a history of 18 missions, has developed cracks in its liquid oxygen posts.

NASA's common practice of deactivating faulty components with metal pins inadvertently leads to a critical engine nozzle puncture.

The engine nozzle, compromised by a punctured pipe, narrowly avoids a catastrophic meltdown.

The shuttle's sensors fail to detect the liquid hydrogen leak, leading to an undetected engine issue.

An onboard computer misinterprets lower chamber pressure, causing an overcompensation of liquid oxygen.

An unrelated electrical short circuit incident inadvertently balances the shuttle's liquid oxygen consumption.

The electrical issue, caused by a worn wire and a sharp screw, triggers a series of false warnings.

The loss of engine control computers due to the electrical fault leads to a unique balancing of engine performance.

A faulty sensor on the backup computer and the main computer's offline status create a fortunate balance of liquid oxygen usage.

The shuttle reaches orbit with a slight speed discrepancy, which is later compensated by the OMS engines.

The Chandra Telescope is successfully deployed, and the shuttle returns to Earth safely.

The video concludes with a giveaway announcement for a custom Primal Space design Shuttle poster.

Transcripts

This is the space shuttle lifting off on what was about to become one of its most dangerous Journeys into space.

Almost immediately fuel started leaking out of its right engine

and just 5 seconds later an electrical supply failed

knocking its engine control computers offline.

Unaware of what was really going on beneath them

the space shuttle crew spent the next 8 minutes just moments away from a catastrophic failure

when suddenly they ran out of liquid oxygen.

The shuttle had experienced two major problems that should have ended the mission

but miraculously, they happened in such a way

that actually ended up saving the crew  from complete disaster.

We modeled the entire thing to show you the tiny objects that led to these huge problems

and how sheer luck and miraculous circumstances

ended up saving the space shuttle.

In order to understand why this flight was so dangerous in the first place

we need to look inside the shuttle's payload bay.

It was carrying the Chandra Observatory Telescope

which was the largest and heaviest thing shuttle ever launched.

This combination put the mission  over the shuttle's weight limit.

It had to shave off several tons before the flight

and so the crew was limited to five people

a lighter external tank was used

and all three main engines were swapped out for lighter ones.

One of these was engine 2019

which had already flown on 18 missions

making it one of the most used space shuttle engines.

Over time cracks had started to show in a couple of its liquid oxygen posts

These are the thin pipes that carry liquid oxygen into the combustion chamber.

If one of these failed mid-flight it would rip the engine apart and destroy the entire vehicle.

 Instead of replacing these NASA simply deactivated them

by placing a small metal pin at the top which  stopped the liquid oxygen from flowing through.

This was common practice for NASA and it saved the  engine from going through a lengthy refurbishment

but as space shuttle Columbia ignited its engines, one of these metal pins worked its way loose

and shot itself into the combustion chamber at over 30 m/ second.

In the blink of an eye it bounced off the chamber walls

and punctured a hole in the  delicate engine nozzle.

This part of the engine is made up of over 1,000 thin tubes

which circulate the ultra-cold liquid hydrogen to stop the nozzle from melting.

From here the hydrogen makes its way  into the combustion chamber

where it ignites and produces thrust.

When the pin collided with the  nozzle it ripped a hole in three of the pipes

and liquid hydrogen began pouring out of the engine.

If just two more of these pipes had been damaged the nozzle would have melted

causing a chain reaction  that would have completely destroyed the vehicle.

The space shuttle was just barely hanging on but all of this went completely unnoticed

since none of the sensors could detect the leak.

What the sensors did detect was a lower chamber pressure

since less hydrogen was making its way into the combustion chamber.

In order to fix this

the onboard computers automatically started pumping more liquid oxygen into the engine

which brought the pressure back up to the correct amount.

This meant that the shuttle was now burning through its liquid oxygen too quickly

and if it continued like this it would run out way before reaching orbit.

But while all this was going on a completely  unrelated electrical problem had occurred in the vehicle

which put the shuttle offline and it was  no longer vulnerable to hackers ...

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Space Shuttle Columbia had just left the launch pad and was already on the verge of a complete disaster.

Its right engine was burning through too much liquid oxygen and if it ran out

the shuttle might not have made it into orbit or even worse, the engines could have ripped themselves apart.

Amazingly a completely separate  problem was about to save the day.

Inside the payload bay were a series of electrical wires that carried power to instruments all over the vehicle.

One of these wires ran alongside a small screw  that had been overtightened and had a very sharp edge.

Over the course of many flights, this wire had rubbed against the screw

and its insulation had been slowly worn away.

5 seconds into the flight the exposed wire arced onto the screw

causing a short circuit and setting a number of instruments offline.

This immediately set off all kinds of warnings inside the cockpit

one of which was a fuel cell warning.

The fuel cells aboard shuttle used hydrogen and oxygen to produce all of the electricity for the vehicle.

If one of these went wrong the results would be catastrophic.

 Luckily this was just a faulty reading and there was nothing wrong with the fuel cells.

The real problem was lurking down below.

Two computers in charge of controlling the shuttle's engines had been knocked offline

thanks to the electricity shortage.

Each engine had a main computer and a backup computer which would take over if something went wrong.

The right engine, which was leaking fuel  had just lost its backup computer

and the center engine lost its main computer.

This caused a unique problem that actually turned into a solution.

You see, under normal circumstances both computers run simultaneously.

The data from both computers is compared and averaged out and this is what is used to control the engines.

This means that if a sensor on one of the computers is reading abnormally high or low

it won't have such a big effect on the engine.

As it turned out, the pressure sensor on the backup computer was reading incorrectly

and it was sending back an abnormally high pressure reading.

Since the main computer wasn't there to cancel this out

it tricked the engine into thinking  the pressure was too high.

Because of this the engine started pumping less liquid oxygen into the engine to reduce the pressure.

This now meant that although the right engine was guzzling through too much oxygen

the center engine was using less than normal

and so the problems canceled each other out.

If the center engine didn't have a faulty sensor  or if the electrical supply hadn't failed

the whole shuttle would have run out of liquid oxygen much sooner

and it wouldn't have reached orbit.

Had this actually happened, the crew would have had to make an aborted landing back on Earth

still carrying the enormous telescope on their backs.

By sheer coincidence, two completely separate problems  occurred that perfectly canceled each other out

allowing shuttle to reach orbit just 5 m/ second off its desired speed.

In the end, the shuttle was able to make up for this by using its OMS engines

and the Chandra Telescope was successfully deployed.

Since its main engines weren't needed for the rest of  the mission, the shuttle and its crew safely made it

back to Earth without any issues.

Now time for the Primal Space giveaway.

The winner of the previous giveaway is Eric. Congrats!

In the next video, we'll be giving away this custom Primal Space design Shuttle poster available in our store.

All you need to do is sign up at the link below

like the video, and leave a comment saying what you think about the Space Shuttle.

Thank you very much for watching and I'll see you in the next video.