Space Missions Destroyed by Tiny Mistakes

Space history and engineering disasters, animated: real NASA and European space missions that were wrecked by tiny mistakes, from a sensor installed upside down to a mirror polished to the wrong shape. In September 2004, a spacecraft came home carrying atoms from the Sun. The plan was for a helicopter to catch the capsule in midair over the Utah desert. Its parachute never opened, and it hit the ground at nearly 200 miles an hour. The cause was a part small enough to hold in one hand. Space missions cost hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of dollars, and they are checked for years. Yet again and again they've been undone by mistakes you could almost miss on a single sheet of paper. In this video: • Genesis (2004): the sensors that couldn't feel the capsule falling • Mars Climate Orbiter (1999): pounds vs newtons, and a $125 million spacecraft lost • Ariane 5 (1996): a number too big for its box and a rocket gone in 37 seconds • Hubble (1990): a mirror off by about 2 micrometres, and the "glasses" that fixed it ⏱ CHAPTERS 0:00 Catching a Piece of the Sun 1:04 Story 1: The Capsule That Couldn't Feel Itself Falling 2:18 Story 2: The Spacecraft That Spoke the Wrong Language 3:47 Story 3: Thirty-Seven Seconds 5:17 Story 4: The Mirror That Was Perfectly Wrong 6:48 Ending 📚 SOURCES Genesis (2004) • NASA – Genesis Mishap Investigation Board Report: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20170... • Genesis (spacecraft) – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis...) Mars Climate Orbiter (1999) • Mars Climate Orbiter – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Cl... • Mars Climate Orbiter Mishap Investigation Board, Phase I Report (NASA, 1999) Ariane 5 Flight 501 (1996) • Ariane 501 Inquiry Board report (ESA/CNES, July 1996) • Ariane flight V88 – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariane_... Hubble Space Telescope (1990–1993) • Hubble Space Telescope – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_... • The Hubble Space Telescope Optical Systems Failure Report (Allen Report, 1990) If you enjoyed this, subscribe for more animated stories about the strangest true events. #space #nasa #animation