How to Survive a Rocket Explosion

houston we have a problem do you know what sucks more than dying in the cold unforgiving reaches of space it's dying before you even get off the planet whether you're heading off into space or getting into a position to dive back to earth there is a fiery Inferno of fuel that's burning you that your car see what happens when its gas tank explodes now imagine that happening to a huge rocket fuel tank so buckle up because today you're getting a crash course in how to survive a rocket explosion all right it's your first day on the job as an astronaut riding in the SpaceX system the Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket which means that part of the rocket is discarded after the rocket is launched it takes a lot of fuel to get off the earth and rocket fuel is very heavy so when enough fuel has burned up makes sense to lose the empty fuel tank this makes the entire craft lighter and weight and smaller so far so good right well it is until something goes wrong in September of 2016 a SpaceX rocket exploded on the launch pad while being fueled the tank that holds supercooled liquid oxygen also contains tanks that hold cold helium and something went wrong with the tanks the bad news is we're making it happen again but the rocket has already launched and you're on board could the rocket really explode and how could you survive number one communicate you and your astronaut buddies are all buckled in and dressed to the nines an expensive new space gear the engine start and you're excited as you lift off on your adventure everything is looking great until you hear a terrible bang as you're hurtling away from Earth you don't have much time to find out what went wrong with the rocket so you and your fellow astronauts need to work together figure out exactly what the problem is and how to solve it to do your homework you're going to be under a lot of pressure literally you're in a life-and-death situation here and there's no time to check the instruction manual you need to know the rocket like the back of your hand if you do well you'll know all about the Falcon 9 launch abort system you did read the manual right before you got on the ship right number three act fast okay it's getting toasty in here you need to act fast and confidently you don't have the luxury of being able to sit around and wait for the folks back on earth to tell you what to do you need to activate the abort system which will separate the crew compartment from the rest of the rocket buckle up this may get bumpy number four land okay so now you've been able to separate the crew from the fiery blaze that used to be your favorite rocket now what well on the Falcon nine you need to lose the side mounted superdraco thruster how cool does that sound it's an engine that powers the spacecraft launch escape system it's basically a powered landing craft built for landing on earth and maybe even other planets whew that was a close one if you're going to survive a rocket explosion you need to know your stuff knowing all the safety procedures and having the confidence to take action on a moment's notice is essential stay calm follow the safety procedures and work together stay focused on identifying the problems and solving the problems and we know it's scary but keep a positive attitude look we're not saying your life is going to be a series of deadly explosions that you need to escape from but if it does turn out that way you may have to worry about something smaller than a rocket explosion and just as lethal but if a grenade landed at your feet well good news we're here to help you survive whatever life throws at you

Channel: How to Survive

Views: 256,508

Keywords: survive, how to survive, survival, survivalguide, what if, science, NASA, LaunchAmerica, SpaceX Launch, Falcon 9 launch, demo-2, spacex, commercial crew, elon musk, launch abort system, rocket explodes, falcon 9 explosion, nasa launch, 2020, survival skills, astronaut training, space news, dragon launch, crew dragon, human spaceflight, international space station, space travel, explainer, nasa, science videos

Id: 742rjaRrGXU

Length: 4min 46sec (286 seconds)

Published: Wed May 27 2020