Quote: "The best 2 1/2 hour customer service call you will ever hear." Best quote from CuriousMarc ever!

@markgreco1962

11 ай бұрын

I laugh every single time he says Doodley Doo, never gets old.

@gtoger

11 ай бұрын

OK, but I didn't find the link in the doodly-doo

@tekvax01

11 ай бұрын

@@markgreco1962 The original quote is from the youtube AvE, but he always said Doobiely Doo, and not Doodley Doo...

@jankas6734

11 ай бұрын

@@tekvax01 Inverter does not chooch....

@brokentwig

11 ай бұрын

@@gtoger Right? Where is it?

The fact that the engineers put in the ability to switch all things to all other things shows great foresight. And the calmness of the whole crew never ceases to amaze me.

@Khrrck

11 ай бұрын

My understanding from the video clip they showed is that they couldn't just route directly from LM to CM battery charger... But they could route from LM to one of the CM buses and then just turn off everything except the battery. ;)

@ClipsByMiles

10 ай бұрын

@@Khrrck That's my takeaway too - by using a bussed design they had lots of flexibility built in, which ultimately saved the crew's lives.

@brettbuck7362

2 ай бұрын

Almost all satellites and spacecraft are designed with redundancy, and this level of cross-strapping is common to ubiquitous. I would add - most large satellites are *vastly more complex* than the Apollo CSM, so there are tens of thousands of pages of drawings as in the video.

@wesley1983

2 ай бұрын

This is very normal for critical systems to be designed that way. Cosy goes way up though.

Was I alive at Apollo-13’s flight? Yes Did I follow the flight in 1970? Yes Did I read lots about it since then? Yes Yet today, Marc provided the best commentary I’ve heard. I think because of the step-by-step explanation alongside a diagram annotation. Thank you!

Sir, this episode was the best analysis and discussion of 13 I've ever seen.

@disgruntledgoat

11 ай бұрын

Quite so - absolutely amazing.

@MonkeyUnit

11 ай бұрын

Just the best. It must have taken months and months to put this video together. So freakin good. Marc, your explanation with diagrams, actual Apollo voice recordings, and your voice over wasn't a long side track in the video... it was the video. Many Apollo collectors are going to watch this video. Someone out there has an inverter that's not filled with cancer that they will donate to the channel. I just know it.

@canadianman000

11 ай бұрын

As an electronics technician it was probably the most interesting break down I've ever seen.

@ofdlttwo

11 ай бұрын

@@disgruntledgoat I totally agree. this was awesome

@1magnit

11 ай бұрын

It was all faked. It couldn't have happened the way the report said it did.

Wow. I was just a kid when it happened, and remember going to bed with the expectation that the mission and astronauts would be no longer by morning. The audio reinforces just what a dire situation it was. The fact that all three astronauts made it home alive was due to a LOT of methodical and exhaustive planning! That planning gave them options when there were almost none available. Well done!

@CuriousMarc

11 ай бұрын

Same here. I recall hearing it over on the radio and asking my parents in how much trouble they were. They told me they would be fine, but I could tell they weren't.

@togowack

11 ай бұрын

@@CuriousMarc NASA was determined to scare the public out of further moon missions or convince them it was too boring to justify the cost and risk. I'm waiting for your team to come across recordings thought to be destroyed that we weren't meant to see or hear...

NASA engineer of 20+ years. This nearly brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for the great work and even more for the great video editing, etc.

No pressure but if you felt like doing a full 2.5hr technical/schematic read-along of the incident, it might be one of the most fascinating videos in existence about the subject. Like some other people, I forgot this video was about the inverter and was sucked into the illuminating companion narration. I wish I was, like you said, an “Apollo spacecraft power system expert”, but I’m afraid even with the core concepts down, the insights of the logic behind the troubleshooting would be missing and are priceless.

@Fuhrious

2 ай бұрын

100%

The power distribution explanation was the most fascinating “sidetrack” I have experienced in a long time. I totally forgot about the inverter.

EECOM: I want to power down a total of 10 amps, flight FLIGHT: A total of ten amps! someone else: *surprised whistling*

@kenchorney2724

11 ай бұрын

I believe that was Gene Kranz whistling, if I recall correctly. He was a bit shocked at the delta that EECOM was requesting.

@CuriousMarc

11 ай бұрын

Yes, that's Gene Kranz. Remember, he has not been told yet that they think they lost Fuel Cell 1 and Fuel Cell 3, so this comes as a bit of a surprise.

Vermiculite does not always contain asbestos - its still available and in use today for fire protection. Might be worth getting the stuff you removed tested if its still available. Another great Apollo 13 episode 👍

@MegaVoltMeister

11 ай бұрын

I think getting a sample tested would be a great idea. That would tell you what your dealing with.

@dirksperling6477

11 ай бұрын

Think so, too. Vermiculite should be free of asbestos. It can be pretty itchy and wearing a mask is a good idea, but it's not a health risk as asbestos.

@FrozenHaxor

11 ай бұрын

I use vermiculite in a lair of my gecko lizard, it's absolutely non toxic, apparently extremely rare that it would contain any asbestos.

@rkan2

11 ай бұрын

I feel like this Vermiculite was added more than 30 years ago. Therefore it is likely it's source is from the Libby mine which contained (amphibole) asbestos as mined. Only way to know it is to test (and not vacuum it with a random shopvac before!! 😮)

@johndododoe1411

11 ай бұрын

​@@FrozenHaxorI guess it depends on the production decade!

24:20 As a teenager in the early 90s I was lucky enough to sit next to John Aaron (EECOM) for 14hours on a flight from Sydney to LA. He enthralled me with stories of Neil Armstrong and his work in Apollo 13. Pity I wasn't older or I would have hammered him with more questions. I remember he introduced himself "Hi I'm John Aaron, I taught Neil Armstrong to land on the moon." Something he was very proud of. 🙂🇦🇺

One of your best Marc.

That inverter looks like a perfect candidate for one of those CT scans(obviously sealed in plastic bags the whole time).

@johndododoe1411

11 ай бұрын

The metal casing would react badly to the main CT magnetic field . Remember, *no metal allowed within 20 feet from the machine*

@FrozenHaxor

10 ай бұрын

@@johndododoe1411 Huh? I don't think you got that right at all. There is no magnetic field in CT scan, it uses ionizing radiation.

@johndododoe1411

10 ай бұрын

@@FrozenHaxor Oh, I always get those 2 medical scanners confused .

@chrisE815

2 ай бұрын

​@@johndododoe1411 no expert but I think of CT as a 3 dimensional xray.

Marc, This is the most comprehensive, thorough, and amazing description of what happened during A13, and how the system functions! Once again, you've knocked it out of the park sir!

@jannepeltonen7493

11 ай бұрын

Agreed!

Ooh, I so didn’t want this episode to end…

@bgbthabun627

11 ай бұрын

neither did I!!!

@BlahBleeBlahBlah

11 ай бұрын

Same! This was absolutely fascinating.

Where’s Scotty when you need him? 😂 The quality and professionalism of these people in the Apollo program was simply amazing. Hats off to those people!! 🎉

Oohhh meen.. I love this episode.. Thank you so so much... I read so many books and videos about the accident and now you share this guts details of it... tears of joy. Thank you thank you!!!

@bradleystach6275

11 ай бұрын

I want to second your comment. I have listened to the mission audio many times and this video really sheds a new light on whats being discussed. Absolutely fascinating. Marc, please do more videos like this!

I cant image someone would add vermiculite to that box. I wonder if some engineer was doing some end point testing and wanted to get it hot.

Sy turned 87 this year. Gene is 89. John is 80. Don't know about Dick or George, but Larry died in a plane crash in 2011.

The technical walkthrough, with diagrams and audio from all the Nasa engineers, was *incredible* - that deserves to be made into a separate dedicated new series!!

I had butterflies in my stomach as Marc narrated the terrifying minutes as everything was falling apart. This retelling of the events had a much larger emotional impact on me than any article or the magnificent Apollo 13 movie. Well done!

@russellhltn1396

11 ай бұрын

Yeah, now the movie feels like the "children's book" version. This is even more terrifying.

@ChildSpaceMethod

11 ай бұрын

Me, too!! I was shaking.

I was so captivated by the Apollo 13 problem I forgot about the inverter. And, ungrateful me, I wanted more of the story! Magnificent.

The first half of this video is one of the coolest and most immersive videos I have ever seen. Would love to see that style of video for how the whole mission played out

I'd LOVE a commentary movie by you guys along with that 2.5hour accident handling call!

@guyh3403

11 ай бұрын

+1

I was on the edge of my seat again, the growing realisation of the seriousness of the predicament that faced the crew.

That was one roller coaster of a video. I learned a lot of the Apollo 13 dysfunction (?) it was great to see the block diagram and the original dialogue as they tried to work out what had gone wrong. Thanks again for your efforts !

Thoroughly enjoyed your Apollo sidetrack. I’ve always been Curious what all the bus A and B talk was.

@johndododoe1411

11 ай бұрын

Yeah, I always imagined them to be mostly redundant rails with all key systems switchable from bad bus to good bus . Having most stuff tied to one bus or the other makes the situation worse, though all the off switches would still allow reducing load enough to tie the busses to a single source, such as cell 3, bat C, or whatever, hence the placement of the extra battery on 14.

Your 'sidetrack' was probably the most gripping piece of youtube video I've ever seen -- an excellent explanation of a sequence of events that I've never been able to fully follow before now. Thank-you!

It is fascinating to see how much flexibility and N+1 redundancy was built into the Apollo CM and LM systems. It is a tribute to the designers to have anticipated the potential need for flexibility even though there was a mass and volume penalty for doing so ... and they were rewarded for the foresight by Apollo 13. Also, just think how much smaller and less massive that inverter would be if made with modern semiconductors - it would now be practical to synchronize phasing in order to parallel inverters onto the same bus. Thanks for sharing the fascinating transcript of some of the brainstorming behind recovering from the total loss of DC power from all of the SM fuel cells simultaneously. Wow, what a nail-biter.

Thanks everyone for one of the most interesting episodes. I often sit longing for the next episode. Those of us who were young and followed Apollo as children find this incredibly exciting to see how a new generation of technology was created. I myself mention to my children from time to time that Apollo largely founded our smart phones and cameras... Very much looking forward to future episodes. Thank you for your great commitment.

Absolutely LOVE the annotated commentary! Such a fascinating piece of history

This has been my favorite CuriousMarc video by far! Thank you for the in depth analysis of the Apollo 13 failure. I hope you enjoyed creating it as much as I enjoyed viewing it. Thank you and your team!

The Apollo program owes you and your team a *GREAT DEAL* of gratitude for keeping all this old hardware alive. I love every episode. My paternal grandfather was one of the *many* engineers who worked on Apollo, so I've always loved learning whatever I can about the program -- especially its hardware. Thank you for making these videos.

Well now I understand why more than half of the episode was on the power systems and not the inverter Considering how much Apollo equipment you have worked on, it's a small miracle that this is the only one that is beyond rescue and through no fault of the engineers who designed it Secretly hoping that we will be getting a video on a Block II inverter now, that will just magically show up :D

@CuriousMarc

11 ай бұрын

We are secretly hoping too!

@robinbegley1077

11 ай бұрын

For something designed to work for about a week, its amazing it was still working decades later

@johndododoe1411

10 ай бұрын

​@@robinbegley1077Well, this was a lab test unit designed to be used repeatedly for years as they used the rest of the BP craft to test all manner of procedures and upgrades for flight hardware . Curiously, I wonder if this specific unit was used during the Apollo 13 incident to test recovery plans (the movie has at least one ground team work in a training capsule, not sure if that was actually done) .

What an incredibly insightful analysis. Besides the technical genius of everyone involved, at times you can really tell how much uncertainty and, to some extent, fear, they are feeling. They may have a bunch of schematics, data and potential fixes for the problems, but when they start to discuss between the stations if it would be wise or not to switch the inverters around, it's evident that they couldn't 100% know what would happen. Must be tough to make decisions down here knowing there are 3 people trapped on a glorified tin can with no way out if you mess up. Thanks for the video Marc, appreciate it.

The videos are always excellent, but this was definitely a cut above. Thanks for taking the time to make it and explain everything so clearly.

Thank you for the detailed walkthrough of the underlying system design, system dependencies, hardware affected, and real-time diagnosis at the heart of the Apollo 13 abort. The EECOM engineer, Sy, and his back room support team were absolutely a shining example of focused team work and mastery of their subject domain. I was just a kid when Gemini and then Apollo programs were underway but was fascinated and drank in everything I could about them. As an engineer approaching retirement, I truly appreciate the foresight involved in the flexibility and redundancy considerations that went into the architecture and detailed design of the Apollo hardware that this channel has so admirably explained. Those architects and designers tried to have backup after backup layers since space is always trying to kill you and they wanted the best chance for keeping the astronauts alive. Whatever the next Apollo restoration is, I’ll be watching.

i waited over 50 years to get a concise explanation - this is it. well done.

Vermiculite, in and of itself, does not contain asbestos, but comes from it being present along with vermiculite when mined. A lot of it would depend on when the vermiculite was added to the inverter. If done by Westinghouse - fair chance that it might have contained it due to the timeframe, major suppliers, etc. If done by someone later on, possibly less likely. Might want to have a sample tested. Find out if you have to have the lab/house decontaminated or not.

@JensAndree

11 ай бұрын

This. I doubt it's contaminated. You buy the stuff in bags for chimney insulation amongst other things, and never have I heard of vermiculite being contaminated with asbestos! If you're worried then have it tested, but I'd be really surprised if it isn't clean. (apart from some dust though... ;) )

@zyeborm

11 ай бұрын

Yah the testing is pretty cheap too, for sure send it off and find out. My evil motivation is because if it comes back clean then they can do more videos on it ;-)

@Diamonddavej

11 ай бұрын

Vermiculite from Libby, Montana, mined between 1928 and 1990, was contaminated with asbestos. It produced 75% of the worlds vermiculite at its peak.

@johnopalko5223

11 ай бұрын

@@mikebarushok5361 Well, that's disturbing. I never knew about asbestos contamination of vermiculite. I spent a good part of my youth in the 60s and 70s up to my elbows in vermiculite, growing and propagating plants. No mesothelioma so far, though.

@mikebarushok5361

11 ай бұрын

@@johnopalko5223 hopefully you weren't manipulating vermiculite in a closed area and if it was always dampened the fibers aren't as likely to be inhaled. I too was exposed to asbestos from working in a wholesale greenhouse where we mixed all our potting soil in a small enclosed room. Not moistened until used. I try to remember to get a chest X-ray every couple of years and so far all's well. I also had exposures to high temperature asbestos insulation for aircraft parts, did lots of brake lining replacements on cars and trucks and used asbestos and metal mesh heat deflectors when I did soldered copper plumbing repairs. As the song goes "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."

I absolutely didn't mind the side track, that was awesome just got into it, really interesting!

Great description of the power problem of Apollo 13. That was the most exciting story I head recently.

What a fantastic explanation and timelapse of the apollo 13 accident. This channel allerede was top notch, and now reaching a whole new level. Thanks Marc !

Your commentary following the actual dialogue is so fascinating!! It really makes you feel the urgency and pressure these engineers were under and how their brains must've been firing off trying to come up with an analysis and solution. Such a captivating troubleshooting to follow along.

Listening to the Apollo 13 audio gave me goosebumps!

Marc, I've been watching your channel for years and this was by far and away my favorite episode. I know it's a bit outside of what you do, but please more narration of Apollo flight and ground loops whenever it fits your projects.

wow. this is hands down the best episode on this already amazing channel so far.

That was the best explanation of the Apollo 13 situation I've ever watched, as thsi one had a decent schematic and a really good explanation. Thank you

I would absolutely love a more detailed analysis of the Apollo 13 failure with annotated schematics and diagrams, just as how you already did in the video.

This was an extremely educational episode, despite ending in a surprising manner. I worked on a spacecraft as a junior systems engineer in the 1980s, and the level of knowledge of the engineers and scientists was amazing - just like the people who figured out quickly how to save Apollo 13.

This video was an absolute gem! By far one of the best stories of the adventure of 13. It would be great if you made a series of each of these stories. I feel there would be so many who would enjoy them but not find it without an interest in the hardware restoration!

Panning the spacecraft and "intercom" audio to different channels works really well!

Again, an amazing episode, so glad I'm living right now to experience it, truly great work! I'm always amazed about the amount of work all that wiring would have been, truly astonishing.

Seems a trivial donation to your lab. I can't remember the last time I found such a fascinating, in-depth break down of this nail biter. Such a clever use of the comms, diagrams and schematics.

Great stuff Marc! I think many of us appriciate how much work went into producing this great content!

This was way better than the movie. Not even close. Great work.

By far the best and most detailed description of the Apollo 13 power system I have seen, super interesting 👍

From a conceptual standpoint, this inverter is like a non-mechanical equivalent of the dynamotor widely used in WWII radio equipment. The original dynarotor utilised a collector DC motor, mechanically coupled to either a dynamo or an alternator, depending on the grade of sophistication of the design; the alternator with the rectifier generated both regulated DC and stabilised AC power. This Apollo inverter generate the rotating magnetic fields without any mechanical rotating device. To achieve a perfect sine wave, the LC circuits had to be resonating at the wanted output frequency, hence the carefully calibrated capacitor banks. Thank you for this special episode! Greetings, Anthony

That was a FANTASTIC summary of the Apollo 13 power emergency.

Every time I hear excerpts from the Flight Director loop, it always gives me the chills. I’m just flabbergasted by the sheer technical knowledge, creative thinking and resource management these guys performed. It’s truly exceptional! Same goes for the engineering and technical planning that went into the design of the Apollo spacecraft. They really thought of everything, and made almost everything customizable and adjustable . I suppose we have to thank this kind of forward thinking for bringing us the astronauts back alive, as well as keeping the Apollo program in the air for a few more missions..

Thank you for the back story. It kept me glued to the screen. GREAT STUFF!

Thanks so much for the deep dive into Apollo 13 accident.

Great to see the system diagrams and the analysis for a play-by-play to go along with the audio recordings, gives an insight into the troubleshooting process.

Amazing detail here that I've not come across before on Apollo 13. Thank you so much for your efforts to present this

This was totally awesome - thanks so much, Marc and the team!

This episode's analysis is brilliant!

That was BOTH AMAZING and FANTASTIC to listen to the coms .... I will DEFINITELY be saving that website!!

Appreciated the context very much.

Brilliant debug explanation. As always Marc!

Awesome episode. I was absolutely gripped by the power system explanation coupled with the mission audio!

I for one really appreciated the diversion through the description of the early stages of the Apollo 13 'problem'! Thanks for going down that rabbit-hole in this episode. 🤓

Thanks for the absolutely amazing "sidetrack"!

I grew up during the Apollo Era and I really appreciate the tremendous effort and love you put in this effort.

Fantastic commentary of the 13 incident. I would love to hear more.

Wonderful, thank you so much for this series of concise and engaging video's, I’m getting old but i still love to learn, and thats what your team enables me to do. Thanks again and more please!

One of your best episodes! Thank you

I love your channel, but this video is special. Magnificent! Thanks!

I was captivated… this episode should be added as “bonus content” to the Apollo 13 Hollywood film

A riveting video. Your visual aids and explanations are invaluable in understanding what is going on. Absolutely stellar work. Thank you very much for everything you and your team does.

Awesome video. Great job explaining the circuitry.

Wow... That was truly an amazing video! Thank you so much for all that work making it and explaining it all. I followed completely. It flowed well. A true masterpiece.

Wow, great job on the play by play of Apollo 13! I found it fascinating.

I was 7 when 13 failed, and followed it at the time. I've read Cooper's book and many others, seen films and documentaries, and listened to the flight recordings. This is the best -- by far -- analysis of the way they saw the problem unfold. Your channel overall is a major contribution to Apollo history... incredible. (Now do the rest of the 13 flight:-)

The best explanation ever of Apollo power systems. I love you guys.

Спасибо вам! Через такие подробные детали лучше понимаешь всю грандиозность задач по освоению космоса, которые стояли перед человечеством.

I DO love your detailed reconstructions, so much that I enjoyed it more than the opening of that stunning piece of engineering. I think, in my humble opinion, that it's a format you should keep. Your ability to explain in great detail what's happened maintaining a high level of attention is quite unique.

This was absolutely incredible! Thank you

WOW! Terrific video guy. The BEST and most informative analysis of any Apollo mission i have experienced. And, i was in elementary school when Apollo 13 made the trip. Please keep up the great work. :)

Excellent episode!

This the third time I’ve watched this, and this is one of the most amazing videos on this! Thanks for this!

I love these videos when restoration crosses paths with history

WOW! I learned so much about Apollo’s systems and it was fun and informative. Thank you.

Marc this is one of the best videos on this subject ever created!

As an electrical engineer i've been involved in designing a couple DC/AC inverters (non aerospace related) in the past 20years. This episode was a pure joy to my mind 😎😋🤠

wonderful explanation

Dude. That was amazing explanation of the electrical system failure on 13

You are so lucky to be able to work on this stuff.

Very smart taking an asbestos risk seriously. Just like Kranz said, "lets not make this problem worse." My dad died a painful death from 1950s era US Navy Asbestos. Test kits are inexpensive in the $30 range. You carefully supply a small sample and mail it in to a certified lab. In a week or so, they send you a written certificate of the results.

Really fantastic you guys are something else! Thanks!

I listened to hours of the audio recordings. These guys are in danger of being lost and the whole time cool as a cucumber.

I read the book "How Apollo flew to the moon" twice, because it´s so immersive. Seeing this stuff in real is more exciting than any fictional thriller. You always make so fantastic things!