[dramatic percussion music]
- HI, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, JUSTIN TULLY.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THE DESIGN PROCESS
HERE AT "NASA LAUNCHPAD" BEFORE,
YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU IDENTIFY A PROBLEM,
BRAINSTORM SOLUTIONS,
THEN SELECT A DESIGN WHICH YOU BUILD, TEST, AND REFINE,
SOMETIMES OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU FIND WHAT YOU NEED.
OH, YEAH, AND YOU HAVE TO SHARE THE SOLUTION WITH OTHERS.
ONE OF THE KEY PIECES OF THAT PROCESS IS THE SHARING.
WHY?
SIMPLE: SO YOU CONSIDER THE WORK THAT OTHERS HAVE DONE BEFORE
TO SOLVE A SIMILAR PROBLEM.
MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK CAN BE APPLIED TO YOUR SITUATION
AND THEN YOU DON'T HAVE TO REINVENT THE WHEEL EVERY TIME.
I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD SIR ISAAC NEWTON'S QUOTE,
"IF I HAVE SEEN FURTHER,
IT IS BY STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS."
NO ONE RECOGNIZED THAT CONCEPT BETTER THAN MAX FAGET
WHEN HE DESIGNED THE BLUNT-SHAPED CAPSULE
USED FOR THE MERCURY, GEMINI, AND APOLLO MISSIONS.
FAGET BASED HIS DESIGNS ON THE EARLY AERODYNAMICS WORK
OF HARVEY ALLEN.
THE RESULT? WELL, SEE FOR YOURSELF.
- TODAY MOST OF US TAKE THE IDEA
OF MANNED SPACE FLIGHT FOR GRANTED,
BUT DURING THE LATE '50s AND EARLY '60s,
THE IDEA OF MAN TRAVELING IN SPACE
WAS AN EXCITING CHALLENGE TO BE CONQUERED.
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE SPACE PROGRAM,
ENGINEERS KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE EFFECTS
OF SPACE TRAVEL AND REENTRY INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.
BUT ONE MAN, DR. MAX FAGET,
CAME UP WITH A REVOLUTIONARY DESIGN
THAT HELPED LAUNCH AMERICA INTO THE SPACE AGE.
DURING THE LATE '50s, ENGINEERS DEBATED
OVER WHICH TYPE OF CRAFT SHOULD BE USED
TO LAUNCH MAN INTO SPACE.
THE DEBATE CENTERED ON WHETHER THE U.S.
SHOULD CONTINUE REFINING THE "X" SERIES OF ROCKET PLANES
OR TO BUILD AN ENTIRELY NEW TYPE OF CRAFT
TO ACHIEVE ORBITAL FLIGHT.
WHILE THIS DEBATE WAS OCCURRING IN THE U.S.,
THE RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED SPUTNIK,
THE FIRST SATELLITE INTO SPACE, IN OCTOBER OF 1957.
THE SPACE RACE HAD BEGUN,
AND THE U.S. WAS ALREADY FAR BEHIND.
AFTER HEARING ABOUT THE SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT
OF SPUTNIK,
ENGINEERS BEGAN TO DESIGN AND TEST NEW SPACECRAFT
AT A FRENETIC PACE.
THE U.S. HAD SOME EXPERTISE
IN BUILDING LONG-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILES
BUT WAS HAVING DIFFICULTY DESIGNING A VEHICLE
TO CARRY MAN INTO SPACE AND BRING HIM BACK SAFELY.
ONE DAY WHILE PLAYING PINOCHLE AFTER LUNCH WITH A COWORKER,
ENGINEER MAX FAGET BEGAN SKETCHING OUT A DESIGN
FOR A NEW SPACECRAFT ON HIS NAPKIN.
THIS NEW CRAFT HAD A BLUNT-SHAPED BOTTOM
AND WAS DESIGNED TO FIT ON TOP OF A BALLISTIC MISSILE.
WITH HIS IDEA IN HAND, FAGET BEGAN A SERIES
OF CRUDE EXPERIMENTS TO TEST HIS DESIGN,
ONE OF WHICH INCLUDED TOSSING A PAPER PLATE OUT OF A WINDOW
TO TEST THE BASIC AERODYNAMIC PRINCIPLES OF THE DESIGN.
FAGET'S IDEA FOR A BLUNT-SHAPED CRAFT
WAS ILL-RECEIVED BY MANY AERODYNAMICISTS OF THE TIME.
RESEARCHERS THOUGHT THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY
TO ORBIT AND RETURN TO EARTH
WOULD BE IN A LOW-DRAG AERODYNAMIC VEHICLE.
ALTHOUGH THIS VEHICLE HAD MERIT,
FAGET KNEW THAT AN AERODYNAMIC AIRCRAFT
WOULD CREATE EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF HEAT,
CAUSING MAJOR STRUCTURAL AND SAFETY PROBLEMS
FOR THE ASTRONAUTS.
- WELL, EVERYBODY THAT HAD TO DO ANYTHING
WITH FLYING THROUGH THE AIR WOULD ALWAYS TRY
AND KEEP THE DRAG DOWN AS MUCH AS THEY COULD,
SO THE ORIGINAL VERSIONS
OF BALLISTIC MISSILE REENTRY VEHICLES
WERE ALL HIGHLY STREAMLINED,
AND THEY HAD EVERYBODY WORKING ON WAYS TO KEEP THEM COOL.
- FAGET ALTERNATIVELY PROPOSED
THAT HIS NEW BLUNT BODY DESIGN SHOULD BE USED INSTEAD.
HE REASONED THAT HIS DESIGN
WOULD CREATE A HUGE SHOCK WAVE AROUND THE SPACECRAFT,
MOVING THE HEAT AWAY AND KEEPING THE CRAFT COOLER UPON REENTRY.
FAGET BEGAN TO PUSH HIS IDEA
AS THE BEST ONE TO GET THE JOB DONE QUICKLY AND SAFELY.
- THAT PARTICULAR SHAPE, IT WASN'T REALLY AN INVENTION.
THAT'S JUST A PIECE OF NATURE.
THERE ISN'T ANY SHAPE THAT'LL HAVE LESS HEATING
THAN THE MERCURY SHAPE.
IT'S IT.
- AFTER A SERIES OF WIND TUNNEL TESTS,
HIS BLUNT-SHAPED VEHICLE
WAS PROVEN TO BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DESIGN.
FAGET'S SPACE CAPSULE DESIGN WAS ADOPTED IN THE LATE '50s.
ASTRONAUT ALAN SHEPARD BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY
IN THE MERCURY SPACECRAFT, DESIGNED WITH A BLUNT SHAPE.
THIS DESIGN PROVED TO BE SO SUCCESSFUL
THAT A VARIANT OF THIS CRAFT WAS ALSO USED
IN BOTH THE GEMINI AND APOLLO SPACE PROGRAMS.
FAGET'S FORESIGHT AND TENACITY
OVERCAME MANY TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
AND HELPED LAUNCH AMERICA INTO THE SPACE AGE.
- TODAY AS WE PLAN TO RETURN TO THE MOON, MARS, AND BEYOND,
NASA IS BUILDING 21ST-CENTURY EXPLORATION VEHICLES,
BUT THOSE DESIGNS WILL USE THE SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
AND TECHNOLOGY SKILLS ALREADY LEARNED
FROM NEARLY A CENTURY OF AERONAUTICS RESEARCH.
THE RESULT: ORION LOOKS VERY MUCH
LIKE THE APOLLO CAPSULE.
THE DIFFERENCE: 40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE,
EXPLORATION, AND DESIGN
WILL HELP A WHOLE NEW GENERATION OF PIONEERS
LEAVE FOOTPRINTS IN OTHER-WORLD SOIL.
THAT'S ALL WE'VE GOT THIS EPISODE.
THANKS FOR WATCHING. I'M JUSTIN TULLY.
AND WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."