Really enjoyed this:
Really enjoyed this:
Thanks for that. That is an awesome video.
I watched about the first 15 minutes or so and had to do something else. Great shots.
People always make the claim that the space shuttle is the most complicated piece of machinery ever built. This video also claimed that there are 1 million moving parts. I doubt both claims. I would submit that a nuclear powered submarine is at least as complicated - more than likey more complicated. They are very similar in many ways, except that a space shuttle can only carry a handful of people while a sub can carry over a hundred. The systems are in a large part similar - got to maintain the atmosphere, except that a sub makes water and oxygen from the outside, while the space shuttle has to carry that stuff with it. They both have to have HVAC systems. Sure space is a lot colder than the ocean, but there is a lot less stuff to keep cool/heated in the shuttle. Other than a bunch of one shot devices and ginormous rocket motors the rest is pretty much found on a sub. Rocket motors are not complicated and if you want, I can use an SSBN as my sub and presto I have a whole bunch of solid rocket motors and initiating ordnance.
Anyone have a shuttle parts list? A million moving parts? If so it is poorly designed.
"The most complex machine ever built, the space shuttle has more than 2.5 million parts, including almost 370 kilometers (230 miles) of wire, more than 1,060 plumbing valves and connections, over 1,440 circuit breakers, and more than 27,000 insulating tiles and thermal blankets. " (from here)
I never counted circuit breakers, but that is not a lot of valves and connections. 230 miles of wire sounds like a lot, but it's not. Again, I find the claim that the shuttle is the most complex machine ever built to be a silly claim.
If you really want the back story of this spacecraft, find "The Space Shuttle: The history of the National Space Transportation System: the first 100 missions" by Dennis Jenkins. Awesome read. It took me 2 weeks to read it. For perspective, I read the Hunt for Red October in afternoon. At about 400+ pages, only the last 100 are devoted to the missions. The rest was all the development needed to get to STS1. It is that complex of a system. Fantastic read.
Comparing a non-fiction book with hundreds of pages of technical details to a novel makes no sense, but maybe I'll look out for that book - I bet it is interesting.
I've read thousand upon thousands of pages of tech manuals, reactor plant manuals, and the like - it took me years. I watched Moonraker in about 2 hours. Doesn't say anything about the relative complexity of space ships versus submarines.
I am not doubting the complexity of the shuttle, just the claim that it is the most complex thing ever built.
I think appleseed was just stating that he's fast with reading comprehension.
It seems to me he was saying exactly what you are (that the book is no novel).
Clem
Correct. I meant that I read very fast, yet with this book I found it necessary to pace myself.
When they say its the most complex machine ever built, possibly they include the whole system. Orbiter, external fuel tank, and SRBs.
Considering when it was designed, I'd believe it. You might be able to do it today for less, I imagine.
when you factor in that every system has a backup- and every backup has a backup- then the number of moving parts can add up really fast.
Most complicated thing ever built:
You'll need to log in to post.
