JPL and the Space Age: The Breaking Point

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s success in landing the low-cost Mars Pathfinder mission in 1997 was viewed as proof that spacecraft could be built more often and for far less money - a radical cultural change NASA termed “Faster, Better, Cheaper.”
This era also coincided with the discovery of a Mars rock that hinted at the possibility of microbial life elsewhere in the solar system. NASA’s reaction was to envision a steady stream of missions to Mars - all done at cut-rate costs. In fact, the next challenge taken on by JPL was to fly two missions to Mars for the price of the single Pathfinder mission. Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander both made it to the launch pad, on time and on budget, but were lost upon arrival at Mars, resulting in one of the most difficult periods in the history of JPL.
“The Breaking Point” tells the story of the demise of these two missions and the abrupt end of NASA’s “Faster, Better, Cheaper” era.
Documentary length: 1 hour 47 minutes

[@dalemark45]

It's pretty wild that this feature length documentary about one of the premier science organizations in the USA has under 600 views

[@stevenmccormack2363]

Says a lot about the collective cranium of the country…

[@luke3501]

I've loved every JPL video I've watched. The trials and tribulations. The challenges. The achievements. And especially...the people.

[@gamerfortynine]

Yt has squashed free use. I dont think you understand how bad this is. I used to get 6+ hours of free use documentaries PER DAY.

[@ShawnRitch]

Especially when they have, at this time, 1.13 million subscribers. I believe the majority of the population is more interested it entertainment and, what I call "now pleasure", than truth or what is really happening or has happened on more of a reality sense - unfortunately.

[@jackb3822]

@@ShawnRitch It doesn’t really help that it a somewhat obscure corner of youtube. They should push this stuff out on more platforms.

[@bludeetu321]

I applaud JPL for their amazing work. And for their bravery in producing this bare all documentary. Every industry experiences failures. What you do next is the measure to judge by. Personally, I would be happy to be the lady working in the cafeteria just to say 'I too work at JPL'. Thanks.

[@dodgeman789]

i so agree with you, i watched the perserverance doc that was amazing, i wanted to be the guy that breaks up rocks to simulate the mars landscape lol

[@ugowar]

Another great installment in the series, and an impactful one because it doesn't shy away from talking about the heart-wrenching failures and does not sweep them under the rug or pretend they never happened.

[@RV4aviator]

16 seconds in ..I already LOVE this...! JPL are the successful blending of IT Network geek and steely eyed Systems Integration Engineer. Hail to JPL. ! I love you. I dream sometimes that I tried harder in Mathematics and Physics, so that I could work at JPL.... Alas... That didn't happen, so I as most am an enthusiastic viewer of the BEST people to bring about the exploration of our Solar System..! Thank you..!

[@AdityaKumar-gx1ud]

Human beings will do anything outside except for turning inward and completely still the mind without any thoughts. What have these people achieved? Immortality? Helped them uncover secrets of life? Nothing. I'm not disrespecting them but science is only one side of the coin, only few of us make an attempt to see the other side, many of us don't even believe that there is other side to that coin.

[@larrysteimle2004]

Impressive. Good lessons for all of us. I retired from JPL in 1996. The last project I worked on was Cassini. I'm glad it worked so well. Not all of my projects did.

[@Half-CockedG]

Thanks for your service to space exploration Sir.

[@t.a.r.s4982]

These JPL documentaries are so great, thank you!

[@l-MR-777-l]

This is a lesson for life not to be cheap because, on the end, you'll pay double price. Such a great work by all who worked hard to accomplish impossible. We are humans after all.

[@TechNed]

Excellent presentation. I was in Tasmania, online with my dial-up internet connection, eagerly following each update of the MPL, hoping against hope that the next contingency would come through.

[@Mnimosa]

Exceptional documentary. Such accounts allow us to take the true measure of the extraordinary scientific and engineering accomplishments achieved by these dedicated people, accomplishments which nowadays almost look routine as they follow one another. Coordinating such projects in all their complexity is no small feat, and anyone involved in such management, from any side of it, funding, etc., will find this document invaluable.

[@bobbyfactor1890]

As a system architect I just don’t understand how anyone who has previously been involved in challenging and complex projects could ever believe in “Faster, Better, Cheaper”. This video did little to shine light on that particular piece of these failures. But cudos for attempting to shine a light on your own mistakes and learning from them rather than, well you know, the alternative.

[@bigpod]

doesnt faster, better, cheaper work quite well in a environment where oneoffs arent a thing and testing is cheap aka not this

[@wolfbear7]

Mistake makers that pick themselves up, learn from those mistakes, and make PROGRESS! Learning is what makes us great inventors.

[@alkutaytun1823]

Great documentary... Worth displaying in high-level administration and management courses. Big achievements are not composed of pieces of all-pure-success, as "big" implies wrestling with numerous risks and unknowns. No risk is immune from failure. This is not a case for blaming, as proper lessons are extracted and appropriate steps taken for final progress. Also, gives place for a number of valuable examples of team spirit, leadership, technical challenge, responsibility, etc. Congratulations...

[@jaydonbooth4042]

Can't wait for the premiere! These documentaries are really great.

[@HypnoPol1499]

I LOVE JPL documentaries. I think I have seen them all now I just wish there were some more recent ones.

[@The..Dark..Knight]

As I went along with them watching their journey, I felt real frustration and anger at the loss of the mission, the bureaucracy of all of the last minute instruments that were proposed to be added to the space craft, and how much hard work and dedication was lost to something as simple as metric conversion. I CANNOT imagine what the team at JPL or Lockheed Martin felt watching it unfold in real time. That's how you get grey hair or start losing in at an early age... lol.

[@AllAboutYouTubers13]

Looking forward to seeing this. Please make a playlist of just videos and not Q&As because that’s what I like to watch as I loved the changing faces of Mars and voyagers etc *AND FOR GOD SAKE GIVE THEM THE FUNDING FOR MORE VIDEOS/DOCUMENTARIES* because they’re the main reason me and many others are here now!!! ❤🇬🇧🇺🇸🇦🇺🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇨🇦🇺🇦🇳🇿🇪🇺☮️🇳🇿🇺🇦👍🇨🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇦🇺🇺🇸🇬🇧

[@jeffneejpl]

Here you go: www.jpl.nasa.gov/who-we-are/documentary-series-jpl-and-the-space-age

[@tamilanimatedstories5610]

JPL documentaries are always immaculate.

[@captainyossarian388]

Such a dark, sad time, but JPL has been spectacular since...MER rovers, Curiosity, Percy, Cassini, etc.

[@leeholmes9962]

I personally think we all should show ALOT of respect for all the NASA teams they have achieved so much and they have ALOT more wins then they do fails let's not forget that so to all the NASA teams you get a big 👍🇬🇧

[@vekanup8573]

One word I can talk about this video is shear "Beauty" Failure is not an option, but without it, there wouldn't be appreciation for the things that we have achieved... Experiments which were done in Space have been used one way or the other for the people on Earth, but experiences we have gained is far greater than Space Exploration itself. Space has taught us to appreciate life on Earth and its ecosystem. When we begin our journey to far of planets we would learn even more and evolve into an interplanetary species. The people in this video are so lucky to be in the forefront of Space exploration.

[@theendofanerror4173]

I remember one day after watching the slew of documentaries on successful space missions, I wanted to see documentaries (like this one) discussing failed space missions. It sucks when it happens however, we are not perfect and we need to remind ourselves of that when people start wanting to re-adjust NASA's budget. We should expect once or twice failures occurring because what's the point of starting such a mammoth and complex task only to run away from it when we fail once or twice like in this situation. I ride or die with NASA even in their failures because the one thing I know they are very good at doing is learning from their mistakes and come back bigger and better than before. So bravo NASA/JPL for having the courage to confront and discuss what we would all like to forget but shouldn't.

[@donovanpl]

Well, I assume this documentary is an approved documentary to come out of NASA. If that is true, then for NASA, to put this damning self assessment out in public view is remarkable. I guess such assessment can only lead to improvements. It is, indeed, a well produced piece. I tip my hat to NASA.

[@trooperbias737]

After Dan Goldin wasting millions then retiring on guaranteed millions to live on? I don't tip my hat to him or casani. They should have been fired with no retirement.!

[@PBeringer]

I'd say that NASA is one of the most transparent bureaucracies in the world, so, in a way, it's to be expected. Conspiracy theorists, etc. who think NASA are the gatekeepers of all knowledge don't necessarily think so. Haha. Though, they're not _entirely_ transparent about just what a lunatic Dan Goldin was as NASA Administrator.

[@Obiter3]

I remember this time. Great to see the details of it. 👍

[@seankennedy1377]

There is no failure if you learn from it and over come it. Failure is part of the learning, engineering, building and application processes. Science!❤

[@PlanetXMysteries-pj9nm]

"Thank you for being a reliable source of information in a world filled with misconceptions. Your dedication to scientific accuracy is truly commendable. "

[@dodgeman789]

rip to mr stone. seen him in a few docs, great person and very smart. great doc too

[@rsc4peace971]

These are the people and the things they do MAKE AMERICA GREAT. I for one am very very proud to be an American SCIENTIST who has contributed something towards some of the key products that went into space missions in the past

[@PBeringer]

That's a rather parochial and chauvinistic outlook ... these are the people that make the HUMAN SPECIES great. JPL is almost always in collaboration with ESA and other international space agencies, and many people working at the lab itself come from other parts of the world. Countries are dumb; get over it, put the flag away and accept that humans are humans, no matter what part of this speck of dust they were born.

[@kilzme2222]

Can't really thank JPL enough for this series.

[@user-fm8fc7gv5x]

Those delicate moments but Genius dared to put aside obstacles and obtain the destination, thank you for your time and effort into the great establishment of the JPL!

[@GenasysMech]

Reminds of an age old axiom, you can have it better, cheaper or faster...but you can't have all three.

[@carlosbrown6208]

Great documentary. Also incredible to see Dan Goldin fearlessly contradict himself.

[@curtisrendon204]

During that era at JSC we low level workers had a saying: "Better, Faster, Cheaper, pick any two".

[@PBeringer]

Absolutely loving these documentaries! Ed Stone's directorship of the lab spanned its most difficult time, surely. Love that guy. And does JPL hire acousticians? I'm less than a year away from my PhD ... hire me, pretty please.😜

[@bertjilk3456]

That's what happens when you put accountants ahead of engineers. I hope the board at Boeing are watching.

[@OriginalThisAndThat]

When you are scared of failure, you dont reach your dreams. If you are scared of chance, you never see the options..

[@CompositesNG]

I tried listening to this while I napped… I got anxiety and a racing heart relieving all these problems. I remember those failures and disappointments. FBC… what a waste that could have been avoided.

[@gabsrants]

I was waiting (and kind of dreading) for this part of the story. I use it regularly to explain why going metric just makes sense and the US is just weird to hold out on that.

[@rulingmoss5599]

soy

[@codymoe4986]

The use of either measurement system would have worked just fine, had everybody involved, stuck with one specific measurement system. Quit pretending the specific use of imperial measurements was the sole reason for the mission's failure. I can just as easily say metric was the cause, if we're playing by the same rules...

[@codymoe4986]

P.S. How is the US a hold out on switching to metric, when it's own space agency uses that measuring system, as evidenced by the video above?

[@gabsrants]

@@codymoe4986 the fact that their society still uses imperial units is clearly the source of this whole problem. You can blame it on the contractor or quality control as much as you like, but it wouldn't have happened if the whole society went with the times and just taught metric in school.

[@marc-andrebrunet5386]

I love NASA.. 🤘❤👍 I remember crying of Joy each time NASA did a landing on Mars. And today, my name is on Mars because of JPL teamwork. Thank you very much NASA. As a simple Citizen, I really appreciate that.

[@OzzMazz]

Good series. Look forward to many more.

[@andrewnicholas9079]

The latest rover being dropped on mars wouldn't be if it wasn't for failures and lessons learned. Well done.

[@harrymacdonald858]

man on t moon

[@casey_jones32]

The head of Nasa's comments are very valid. You cannot have stunning science without failure. And more so, yeah mistakes were made "So what???"

[@danpopescu5716]

Great, great documentaries. I am absolutely fascinated about robotic missions in our solar system, and beyond!!!What is next, landing a man on Mars???Landing a man on Venus???

[@wattetiparoch]

Great vid! Thanks! I am stunned that the U. S. STILL uses the imperial system! I vividly remember as a kid while on an interstate, seeing a brown mileage sign (usually green), that had miles and kilometers. So it was attempted. But...never saw again. Get with the rest of the world and get smart! Go metric!!!

[@soniaasbun3900]

Amazing information, thanks for share 💯🌎🙏

[@frankperez1953]

Great management. Goldin. We need more leadership lke yours. Bravo NASA!

[@s1nb4d59]

Another great doco of jpl.

[@VR_Wizard]

Pushing the teams to their breaking points, just like pushing the spacecrafts to their breaking point was and is a good strategy you need to know your limits not just technical but also organisational limits to get the most done.

[@jamesdonaldmorris2318]

Imagine a documentary on the military black projects! Trillions of dollars on science unknown to the public and the advancement it would bring to all human kind.

[@SpaceMystery9]

Interesting content

[@Shady-Shane]

the way they gobbled up those Peanuts, you'd have thought they'd been through a Matter Transference beam.

[@aerospacefuzz]

Superb documentary

[@TheMchip]

respect!

[@VinayakVadlamani]

Goldin is an example of a leader that pushed NASA far back by decades.

[@Mk-dm5zt]

Hi here at NASA we send incredible technology into space but when it comes to making videos on earth we can not figure out how to turn up the audio levels on our videos

[@LeonelEBD]

Bold documentary 😅 well done JPL 🎉

[@gravityalchemist6599]

Loved the red rally hats when the spaceship made Mars orbit.

[@ianmangham4570]

Crazy how smart these folk are 😮 🙏🤔

[@rkvfx_roopak]

Awesome documentary

[@Bydesign777]

Boy it must be a special thing to get to talk to Ed Stone. Wish I could.

[@Sparweb_Projects]

There's a quote from Hamming, that "mistakes are inevitable, finding them is imperative". Everyone in engineering faces the chance of failure due to mistakes, and we're responsible to search out and prevent all of them that we can find.

[@ronaldgarrison8478]

I think the audio level is kept low on this video just to make the dramatic vents louder.

[@DanielVerberne]

Wish NASA would include the year of production in the video title - just makes it easier to know which content really is 'NEW' and which .... isn't.

[@Maxvellua]

These kind of films are very important. And this one especially. To know how to do something great, you should learn how to fail. Just not to fail too many times :-)

[@mrhassell]

"don't be afraid of failure". Take a note from these guys book and "Expect it".

[@erselley9017]

So I'm a nurse and not a engineer but I was surprised Lockheed went with an asymmetrical design for the orbiter. I saw a documentary about Lockheed and they really stressed how important it is that your plane weighs the same on both sides. Almost makes you wonder if it was a simple design flaw and they made sure it balanced but JPL wasn't there to explain what happens when you escape gravity. Same with the mathematical error. Both sides were incredibly competent but weren't talking to. eachother.

[@krbnn]

Being asymmetrical is not a problem, Mars Odyssey orbiter is also asymmetrical and it worked fine

[@michaelclark5626]

If you think about it, costs go down when you employ standardization. Perhaps, if we go for standardization in space ships, propulsion units, air supply, water purification, and many other components of space travel, the per unit cost will drop significantly. Do not reinvent the wheel over and over again.

[@w.1929]

Impressive, as an engineer I can totally relate.

[@andyfim]

Loved it! Thanks!

[@michaelogden5958]

If you've ever worked for a major corporation, you know exactly where Donna Shirley 42:00 is coming from.

[@rynoopperman5010]

Very interesting Documentary I knew about the mix up and failure What amazed me is that this was completely caused by management, but when investigating and applying fixes it is not said out loud that management, not engineers, caused this As an engineer I face this at my company (post covid) today, where every problem is due to engineers and not managements insistence on bigger faster cheaper PS: is this not the same reasons for losing both space shuttles…?

[@jamielacourse7578]

Red ballcaps and peanuts? They weren't kidding about cutbacks.

[@okankyoto]

It turns out that "NASA cannot afford failure" did not refer to budgetary worries- it referred to how failure plays out on the world stage. I'm shocked that Dan Goldin is willing to go on the record and go, "I don't care."

[@vekanup8573]

it seems like human are and always will be mistake makers.. We are such perfectly imperfect creatures living in a imperfectly perfect world.

[@gcgc2876]

The one thing people don't realize realize it might have been expensive but the technology that came out of that has helped every person on this planet in 1 way or another Imagine how more advanced we might be If They continue to work At it Might have come up with something to solve our energy crisis

[@drealexatos3459]

Why all the cost-cutting and austerity? There is nothing that deserves more funding than space exploration

[@jamiboothe]

Failure today, is necessary for finding solutions to future problems.

[@jamiboothe]

Also, when you have an idea, find at least one person to challenge that idea. The more challenges the better.

[@gailward3720]

Had we adopted the metric system this would have been avoided. Just one cost of an expensive mistake for the USA.

[@Agnemons]

If you take no risk you risk no failure. But you gain little in the way of success. The only way to find out where the edge of the envelope really is to break it.

[@alennx22]

Testing a management system to destruction during zero-fail missions is ridiculous

[@davidwilkie9551]

So it goes.

[@wazhushkmuskrat9907]

Interesting that the craft was done in by metric and imperial measurements. So how did the craft even make to Mars?

[@bronwynecg]

Wait…. Is this the same narrator as the guy who did the Mass Effect codex? 😲🤔

[@MrHichammohsen1]

Loved it!

[@loyalseverson8918]

My wifes sister Linda was hanndling travel for the employees at JPL

[@mikekincaid7412]

JPL.. town hall meetings..SNL ..open access to the press..director like a regular guy?? How do I sign up? Plus it’s close to home..where do I send my app?

[@Vector_Ze]

I haven't watched the entire video, yet, but I'm sure I will. The music is a bit comical in the opening minutes; more appropriate for a 1960s video than for the late 1990s being covered. 44:20 - Hey, hey, we're the 'in-crowd'. In my fondest dreams, I'd be one of those people. 46:47 - That's not peanuts they're passing around, it's a big bottle of Tums Antacid. 1:12:29 - The blame game looks squarely at Lockheed Martin, not JPL or NASA. Units specified but not adhered to. 1:29:43 Wasn't it a little bit LATE for NASA Administrator Dan Goldin to realize the complexity of the mission? 1:35:17 Root cause, lack of funding. It's truly astounding that, with the chances that were taken, we went through the entire Project Apollo with no more casualties than the Apollo I ground test in 1967. I'm going to have to watch the rest of this JPL and the Space Age series! For anyone bored enough to have gone through my post, I'm 69 years old. I remember Project Mercury onward. I witnessed the last three Apollo launches from the Cape vicinity, as well as a couple Shuttle launches. I'm an old space fan. And, Elon Musk is a freakazoid! No reflection on SpaceX...he's not the genius behind that endeavor, just a money guy without common sense.

[@xlsyor]

Years ago a probe was sent to mars, I believe, that landed cushioned by some massive airbags. THAT, in my opinion,was very cool. Apparently, it was inadequate in some way. Now this.

[@Standing.W.Israel]

"When you lose a spacecraft its like losing a best friend" 😳😳 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

[@thelonelycatproject]

So proud of my BS Course Aero Eng. unfortunately ended up being a 3d artist.

[@railgap]

the next time you're at a party with planetary exploration scientists, try this knock-knock joke: "Knock-knock!" "Who's there?" "Beagle-2!" "Beagle-2 who?" [first person pretends not to hear, hopefully the straight man repeats the last line a few times...] {joke so dark it got lost in the shadow of a planet}

[@MrShobar]

If any of these people spent any time with an aerospace contractor, this "faster better cheaper" mantra coupled with a promised work force reduction would be all too familiar to them. When things start to go wrong with the new (imposed) managerial plan, they always send for people like Goldin to play the "grim reaper" to tell them they'd better get with the plan or else. A very familiar pattern.

[@markbass_trojanthinking]

Nice mixing old with the new🙂

[@josephjackson7269]

“Those 2 missions to Mars will be on my back , I don’t care “. Quote from JBL and NASA Private industry should be monitoring government agencies not the other way around. Huge cost overruns , long delays and I don’t care pretty much sums it up along with no one can be fired . Wow !

[@feathersprinkles]

I know nothing about rocket science but why did Lockheed Martin use the imperial system? I would have assumed industry standard was metric.

[@johnbeene3117]

Subtitle: The Dibertification of NASA or Corporate Yes Men Destroy Everything

[@liquidluck711]

NASA = NAHHSSEE FROM OPERATION PAPERCLIP. WE HAVE NEVER BENBEN TO MARS WE HAVE BENBEN TO THE MOON ONLY ONCE USING STOLEN ALIEN TECH WE KNOW ABOUT THE BENBEN STONE AND THE MOON SHOT TRAP. YOU PEOPLE ARE PURE EVIL INCARNATE !!

[@ArtDocHound]

Great.

[@edmoore]

Goldin in 1992 on time and budgets: "There's a sense of "all we have to do is get it working and launch it and all is forgiven" - Hopeless. That will never. occur. again". JWST would like a word!

[@375GTB]

Read: Managing Martians by Donna Shirley, NASA Ret. The Boss! May God Bless and Protect! J.C.

[@lethaleefox6017]

The metric/English issue raised it's head with impacts.... I was trained in 2012 as an aerospace assembly mechanic... all units were English system that is a standard of American airplane building... not the PC metric system that many other disciplines have adopted... Lockheed Martin, Boeing and so on build aircraft, the standard in aircraft parts is uniform to measurement system for safety and compatibility... it is interesting that my 1969 F250 and my 1980 Honda civic have interchangeable parts... same fuses, same headlights, same windshield wipers and so on... wouldn't even expect that in modern cats and trucks... A cultural measurement difference cost NASA/JPL big time.... but by finding out about reason for failure... it becomes a cautionary tale...

[@PBeringer]

It's funny how the US was one of the original signatories of the Treaty of the Metre - an agreement to use the metric system - yet persists with a cumbersome and clunky, antiquated system for solely political reasons from the Revolutionary War. It's probably time to move on ... ;)

[@michaelclark5626]

The Colorado Department of Transportation tried the Metric System for a short time, then went back to feet, inches, Yards, and Miles, lbs, tons, psi, etc. The number of errors related to conversions was excessive.

[@wildbenny11]

Hello anyone here

[@fredflintstoner596]

NOT ANYMORE !