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right now there's a large collaboration
between spacex and nasa with the aim to
significantly drive down the cost of
space travel
and to inspire the minds of students all
over the world
through their history nasa is no
stranger to partnering with private
companies
to work on unique and ambitious projects
that have led to innovations in science
technology
and life as we know it however none have
arguably been
as unique as nasa's past venture into
the leisure market
during their collaboration with disney
and the creation of mission space
this video is extremely spoiler heavy so
if you've yet to ride mission space
consider this your warning however if
you like the impact technology you want
to see how they pulled it off
then you're in the right place today
we'll take an in-depth look at one of
the most infamous rides at epcot
mission space we'll take a look at its
history turn on the house lights and
pull back the curtain to show you how
this ride rocketed to the top
as one of disney's most intense
experiences
so sit back relax or stand in a queue
line which you're probably already doing
because this is how mission space works
we have main engine start five four
three
[Music]
mission space was the long-awaited and
perhaps of the most controversial
replacement
for the heavily beloved horizons dark
ride after amid its unforeseen demise
in early 1999 with a large sinkhole
jeopardizing the structural integrity of
the building horizons occupied
disney sought after what they believed
would be a worthy successor that would
not
only fit the future or mission but
provide an unparalleled experience only
disney could offer
more or less construction for the land
the ride sits on began with the
unsightly demolition of their iconic
horizon show building
leaving nothing in the aftermath disney
claimed that the building for mission
space was so large it couldn't possibly
fit within the old one
which as we know was just a flat lie to
resolve the sinkhole formation on site
steel girders were placed into the
ground vertically to prevent any shear
or vertical loading
from having adverse or negative impacts
on the new building
during foundation work careful eyed
onlookers and park fans notice four
distinct zones within the building's
foundation
each with what appeared to be a large
ring of connection points in the middle
with this large observation in mind
speculation ran absolutely rampant with
what disney could be bringing to epcot
and if it would live up to its
predecessor
in collaboration with nasa and hp the
three would put the heads together to
devise a riot theme to
training for space travel through the
fictitious international space training
center
and using simulators and other equipment
based on what nasa used to train the
m-prime their astronauts
headed to space disney would provide the
creative work nasa would assist in the
ride system's design
and hp would slap their name on it after
finding a large chunk of the ride
this new simulator ride would allow
guests to experience what it's like
blasting off into space
within a crash course adventure there
was just
one little minor string attached mission
space soft opened
on june 9 2003 but didn't officially
open until october 3rd of that year
the opening was attended by the heads of
each firm as well as multiple astronauts
to officially commemorate
the opening of the soon to be iconic or
more infamous attraction
from the opening guests and fans were
intrigued by the intense experience
delivered by the ride system along with
the moderate and immersive cabins
and museum-style cue while the ride
boasted an intense cutting-edge
experience the shine and allure of the
ride quickly wore down
as the experience perhaps was a bit more
pressing than expected on riders
months after the opening sickness bags
were installed into the cabins
should a rider feel the effects of the
ride too much additionally the ride also
brought up many adverse effects for
riders
that were unaware of underlying health
conditions which also led to two
untimely deaths
needing to take immediate action disney
after the second death
unveiled that the ride would be
outfitted with far more safety
advisories
through the queue in order to
sufficiently warn riders what they were
about to experience
often even to this day riders have no
idea what kind of ride mission space is
moreover disney announced that two of
the ride bays would run
with their main feature disabled the
centrifuge starting in 2006.
this was the main factor that led to the
designation as one of the most intense
riot disney had created
so let's turn on those house lights and
see how mission space works
to increase throughput there are four
centrifuge ride bays
riders are split into ten groups of four
and is tend to wait at
five entry doors around the centrifuge
ride bay
when the doors open to load riders each
group of four riders
enters into one cabin each
in order to understand the ride in
general let's take a look at how each
cabin works
each rider sits in a confined box within
the x2 flight trainer cabin
to secure riders a simple
over-the-shoulder restraint is used to
keep riders from jostling around during
the ride
these seats are combined in order to
reduce martian sickness
in addition small fans are located to
the sides of riders to blow
cold air to prevent motion sickness
often caused or triggered by heat
exhaustion
in front of riders is a large control
console with many buttons and joysticks
that will come in handy during the ride
further in front of each rider is the
early installation of a 3d parallax
screen
similar to 3d tvs that require no
glasses
developed in collaboration with walt
disney imagineering the system
uses two screens and angled glass to
provide the left and right eyes slightly
different views presenting writer's
minds with a perceived three-dimensional
view
out of their cabin each cabin is
articulated on two pivot points around
the rider's heart line
and through the center to roll the
cavern left and right this articulation
is performed by electric actuators which
use a stepper motor
and a lead screw to move a ram that
manipulates the position of the cabin
these actuators not only eliminate the
need for pneumatic or hydraulic
equipment but rid the ride of another
point of potential failure as electric
actuators are more reliable
for the purpose of detail i've created
this 3d printed model of the entire ride
system
as mentioned earlier riders load through
5 bay doors around the centrifuge
this centrifuge is about 60 feet in
diameter with 10 arms spreading out from
the center
and was created by environmental
tektronix corporation
in order to expedite the loading and
unloading process the arms are split
into five pairs
and each arm is not equidistant from the
next this allows for a wider gap between
every two cabins allowing riders to load
from one side where the gap is smaller
and exit on the other side where the gap
is larger forming an exit trail
each cabin has communication and power
cables that run up to a localized com
box
these cable connections not only control
everything happening in the cabin but
allow the resulting cables headed back
to the center of the centrifuge to be
reduced
in the middle of the centrifuge is a
large busbar slip ring system that
assures the electronics a secure and
reliable connection to power
while still allowing the arm to spin and
spin does it ever
the centrifuge and resulting centripetal
forces exerted on the riders are thanks
to the variable motor
located in the bottom of the base of the
centrifuge however the centrifuge is
actually secured 30 feet down in the
basement where the drive motor is
this powerful motor pushes a large bowl
gear that ramps the arms up to about 16
to 17 rotations per minute maximum
this may sound rather tame but at its
size each cabin is now moving at 35
miles per hour
and exerting two and a half g's and
riders or about two and a half times
your body weight
another side note is that during the
ride sequence the floors just under the
cabins
drop out to avoid collisions from the
tilting feature now that we understand
each part of the ride
let's put it all together as before
you'll be split into ten groups of four
to fill the four different positions
within the cabin
you'll enter through the five doors on
the outside of the centrifuge and load
into your seats
prior to the start of the ride
attendants use an outside mounted panel
to lean the console within close
quarters of riders confining them to
their seat and immersing them in the
cabin
the other green light is to confirm the
restraints are all locked
the doors then close and the riders
become situated at the controls they'll
use during their flight
when cleared the floors beneath the
cabins were tracked down out of the way
depending on which side you've chosen a
different sequence will unfold in front
of you
both the green team and orange team both
used to offer
the single mission to mars but as of
late 2017 a new orbit around
earth mission was created by
international light and magic
as well as updated graphics for the mars
mission still offered on the orange side
oddly enough the sequence of both
missions is nearly identical in cabin
movements
which eliminated the need to program a
completely new ride sequence
for the new video now that we understand
all the mechanics of the ride
let's hop aboard the orange team's
mission to mars and we'll explain how it
pulls it all off
thanks to our land dave on youtube we
have a centrifuge view of the green
mission
which is essentially the same thing as
the orange team mission without the
spinning
or so i thought as we can see the
flooring below the cabins retracts
downward in order to prevent
collisions riders are now being tilted
onto their backs
to simulate the prep for launch
in order to simulate acceleration this
classic tilting method is used in place
of real linear acceleration
isn't possible due to the right system
in the green mission the cabin tilts
forward slightly in order to gain some
more space
it can then be used for a larger launch
acceleration
[Music]
in the first stage you're separated the
cabin is tilted forward to simulate a
loss of the first stage
to simulate zero gravity the cabin is
tilted slightly forward
take the rider's weight off the seat
back
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here the cabin is being tilted back
again to simulate the start of the
second stage
at this point the cabbages rock left and
right to mimic the activation of the
gravity-assisted slingshot
around the
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the way to moon engineer activate
hypersleep
now similar to the zero gravity motion
the hypersleep motion involves tilting
the cabin slightly forward to ease
riders into a sense of calm
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we then wake up to meteor shower over
the landing site and riders are tossed
back and forth as they try to avoid
collision after collision
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the rocket descent motion has until
actuators fully retract tilting the
cabin and riders
to about 25 degrees as they descend onto
mars face first
the gliding wing sequence now forces
riders onto the back to imitate as if
wings were suddenly taking over
the flight path of the cabin
[Music]
now that we have lost autopilot the ride
system now allows for a bit of
interactivity
by having riders control their flight
through the terrain of mars on the old
green mission
where the century's agent supposed to
spin it actually does still spin
but only one revolution around
onto the runway the cabin tilts forward
where riders try to gain control of the
rough landing
finally as ice breaks the cabin is
tilted far forward
and finally rocked back to safety
mission technically accomplished
the floors come back up the restraint's
unlocked the door swings open and riders
can now
safely dizzy walk out of the cabins
making the way into the middle of the
centrifuge
down the long hallway and of course say
it with me exit through the gift shop
[Music]
so why did the centrifuge still spin
that one time
the centrifuge of the green team side is
likely still used for one rotation
in order to give slight forces it's also
likely used
because not maintaining the centrifuge
would pose aging and safety risks for
the equipment and riders
all together this technology works in
unison to create a seamless and
thrilling adventure
that has amazed and inspired millions of
riders and will continue to do so for
decades to come
i hope you've enjoyed this small dive
into how mission space works
if you still have questions you can ask
them below and let me know what your
favorite ride is and i might try to make
a video on it
also make sure to take a look at our
other how it works videos in the icard
above
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video once again thank you for watching
and i'll see you in the parks
[Music]
you