Revolutionizing the Logistics of Spaceflight - Firefly Aerospace

[@RealEngineering]

OMG the audio for the joke at 28:31 got cut off somehow?!

[@RealEngineering]

It seems SO much more serious now 🤣 We had a voice actor read out the line with a pleasant little jingle. It was just a joke as we reset cameras to prevent them looking at something proprietary.

[@roqua]

@@RealEngineering I was wondering if the silence was intentional... makes more sense now 🤣

[@RealEngineering]

@@roqua One of the final comments on the last draft was to lower the db of the beep during the intermission card as I was afraid it would hurt peoples ears. We may have over done it. Reviewing a 50 minute long video 10 times and then this happens

[@Nick77ab2]

@@RealEngineering It still felt like a nice joke to me, so it wasn't fully lost in translation thankfully.

[@obi-wankenobi1750]

I was chilling outside and just listening to the video and it freaked me out when the audio cut out 😅. Thought my phone had died/ overheated.

[@NickyLunaLove]

I think both Bridget and Jordi are my favorite engineers you’ve ever interviewed. They are SO excited about their work, it’s infectious.

[@micahfoley9572]

And all the firefly references lol reaver engines

[@TrevorMahlmann]

So cool to see some of my footage in here right from the start. What a neat opportunity it is to work with Firefly-can’t wait to watch this ep of Real Engineering!🎥🚀

[@RealEngineering]

Your footage helped with the video SO much

[@TrevorMahlmann]

@@RealEngineering so glad to hear!!

[@mr.boomguy]

Timestamp please?

[@TrevorMahlmann]

@@mr.boomguy 0:00

[@TrevorMahlmann]

@@stevexracer4309 Firefly have won a number of contracts, as recently as today, announcing a block buy of two to four missions per year from 2027 to 2031 on Alpha for L3Harris. I think it’d be percipient to broaden the horizons of your enthusiasm.

[@Rickardsson99]

18:50 that animation of the fuels mixing was extremely satisfying.

[@SuryaGanesh-p7e]

Minor correction: The SpaceX rocket that failed to launch the Facebook satellite cost was worth $200 million, not $2 billion. :)

[@bolanoluwa6686]

That's not a minor correction. That's a major company killing error 😮

[@johnsherby9130]

@@bolanoluwa66862bn won’t kill Facebook. Reality labs alone has lost 50bn since 2020 and that’s just a side project.

[@weekiely1233]

Was not a Facebook satellite. Facebook and eutelsat simply had a deal with the company to lease a band of its communications for internet access Idk where the myth that it was a Facebook satellite came from

[@jonasr.362]

@Wi2Low i mean Musk says in one of the last interviews a new falcon one uppersatage cost is about 17mil

[@benharris3100]

The satellite was 2bn dollars. Not the rocket

[@DustinHasVideos]

Composite tanks are the future. My friend told me he trusted them so much he was going to take a composite tank and a controller to look at some boat wreck. Must have been so much fun bc I haven’t heard back from him in a couple years

[@kenpumford754]

😂 . In all seriousness though, carbon fiber composite strengths are in tension, not compression.

[@judet2992]

lol, they’re great under internal pressure, not external pressure.

[@Humongous_C]

​@@kenpumford754not entirely true. Carbon fiber composites do have pretty good compression strength, but you are right that their main advantage is tensile strength.

[@tymoteuszkazubski2755]

​@@Humongous_CThe problem isn't in the theoretical strength of the material but in testability because CF has very large uncertainty for compressive loads. You do three samples and one of them breaks at 400MPa and the strongest one breaks at 650MPa, this doesn't bring confidence in testing the manufactured products.

[@matteodelgallo1983]

On top of what everyone else has stated, composites suffer from repeated stress fatigue, which, for inspectable and replaceable components, shouldn't be as much of a problem

[@blackeagle1985]

16:19 Correction Raptor is not the First Full flow staged combustion cycle engine. That honor goes to the RD 270 developed in the Soviet Union. And then there was NASA's integrated powerhead demonstrator in the 90s, which was just the turbo pump assambly of an FFSCC Engine. Raptor was only the 3rd of its kind, but it was the first engine of this type to actually power a vehicle in flight and reach space/orbit.

[@Nine-Signs]

This channel has an often maddening U.S bias/blind spot and has stated many an invention as being made by america first over the years in complete ignorance of historical reality. p.s re its later incarnation the RD 170. NASA has been using it on licence for decades because it was so bloody powerful, not that any credit was ever given to those who invented it.

[@simonebonfanti3983]

🤓☝️

[@mike-0451]

@@simonebonfanti3983 🫃☝️

[@NURDVEVO]

This is correct. He could have corrected it to "The first of its kind to fly" but he seems to be in a hurry these days.

[@judeackland-patel6646]

Having a chief engineer called Jordi at a rocket company has gotta be a deliberate nod to startrek TNG

[@paulgarcia2887]

Even the company name "firefly" is indicative of the canceled tv show

[@tfkia356]

The "Reaver" engines are also a Firefly nod.

[@goobfilmcast4239]

@@tfkia356 ...whisper "Miranda"

[@nefdsnet]

Can't stop the signal!

[@Ngagepdadicte]

It was definitely a job description requirement :)

[@JustSilen]

There is nothing cooler than seeing people who are really excited about their work talking about the cool things about their work.

[@deadlock_problem]

oh boi oh boi I get to make trillion dollar monopolies more money and launch military shit into space and maybe some spy shit to spy on my own citizens or my allies! OH BOI

[@paulmuriithi9195]

from Kenya, i am recommending this channel and a nebula sub to hundreds of parents with science loving school goers. your team makes educationals that are worth investing in. Amaizing work.

[@oremooremo5075]

Ni pesa ngapi kila mwezi?

[@wormyboot]

I like Jordi's passion. He was really enjoyable to watch.

[@parrisracing2370]

The engine names are great. All of them Firefly show references. Love it.

[@drnickmb]

Came here to say this

[@minikretz1]

Bridgette is so amazing at explaining complex topics simply, awesome work by firefly, it's exciting seeing these innovations

[@RealEngineering]

Brigette is a badass. One of the most articulate and intelligent engineers I have ever met

[@weemackee]

Surprised more people aren't mentioning her. I could listen to her elegantly explain literal rocket science for days.

[@Luwoze]

@@RealEngineering She earned her title (PhD Engineering Physica). [kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKXVZnyKact8oNk] for all those that are mesmerized by her style and knowledge.

[@Ph33NIXx]

The story of them making their own component in record time was really inspiring. You could feel the fire in him!

[@joelallen8425]

7:23 the launch abort system is armed before propellant load, this means that the crew dragon would be safely pulled free from the launch pad, nothing apart from the launch vehicle would be lost.

[@MrKentaroMotoPI]

Not a chance. The crew would be hamburger.

[@aggonzalezdc]

​@@MrKentaroMotoPI while the danger isn't zero, the escape system is intended to be able to accelerate away from the rocket, even if it's flying at full thrust, at pretty incredible speeds. That means the load on the crew is real high, and I doubt it will be very pleasant, there may even be injuries, but the g-load only lasts a moment and muscle strain is much easier to treat than being blown up.

[@miroslavmilan]

Came here to say this.

[@lazercheesecake]

The first pilot onboard firefly: I’m a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar.

[@brianknow9142]

Just no spear.

[@maxisp1000]

Browncoat

[@JamesHardaker]

What does that even mean?!

[@judet2992]

@@JamesHardakerit’s a reference to the Firefly TV series

[@MuhammedAasil]

​@@judet2992 Man of culture right here.

[@alexmhbr]

7:24 the Launch Escape System is armed before the propellant is loaded, so in an event where the second stage explodes, the crew dragon would escape

[@AdmiralThumbs]

Exactly, this seems like a safer system for people, since all the time the crew and tech spends outside the rocket is done with an inert empty rocket. Then they only begin fueling once the safety systems are ready and the techs are out of the danger zone.

[@Rocketcoasternerd]

It is he was clearly paid to spin it that way

[@elisha.schiff]

It is still preferable to not have to use the abort system at all... (after all, everything is fallible).

[@Rocketcoasternerd]

@@elisha.schiff You have an explosion problem with all rockets the propellant loading makes no difference

[@DorkJelly]

@@Rocketcoasternerd Lol I'm a big fan of SpaceX. But not everything you perceive to be negative about SpaceX is some "paid for it" conspiracy... That is actually an insane thing to reach to. Especially since a portion of the video is praising SpaceX for its revolutionary Raptor engine that is the first of its kind. Saying things like this is why others call spacex defenders, fanboys...

[@lanzer22]

Everyone is too caught up in claiming this and that is the next SpaceX. The truth is that all these new providers are here because their find their niche to exist along side SpaceX. They focus on different payloads, offer better turn around times and dedicated orbits. None of these companies are delivering the same (22,000kg) payload for less money, nor developing a fully reusable rocket. I'm really happy that RealEngineering got to be up close with the team at RocketLab. But at the same time the biases were starting to show. The whole thing about how "a problem during refueling could be very costly if the cargo are human lives" was hard to listen to. Every enthusiasts know that there is an abort system in place, so the risk is at a minimal.

[@Kellethorn]

To be fair, if the abort sequence is that effective, why wasn't the Facebook launch aborted? I think the point is that whatever safeguards are currently in place were clearly inadequate, proven by the explosion. If that were a crewed mission, the results would have been catastrophic, and a 30 minute window for error checking clearly was insufficient at least once.

[@lanzer22]

@@Kellethorn I didn’t clarify, by abort system I was referring to the crew dragon ejection system that carries the crew away from harm in the case of any catastrophic failure.

[@scottlarkin8855]

Only crewed missions have an abort system The example referenced in the video was almost a decade ago, and Falcon 9 has an almost flawless record, by far more reliable than any other rocket ever made. No mention of any of that in the video, so he is showing his bias by omission of relevant information

[@aggonzalezdc]

​@@Kellethorn that's not accurate, as others have mentioned, only the crew dragon capsules have launch escape systems (there is no capsule at all on a satellite launch like the FB sat, only fairings covering the satellite during flight). I don't love spaceX, and I won't say there is no danger to the crew while they are on the pad, but that's true of every launch system to an extent, and there are safety systems in place to save a crew if something did happen on propellant load. And you can't deny the astonishingly good safety record of Falcon 9 rockets. I may not love them but Falcon 9 is a triumph of engineering and system control, it's one of, if not THE, safest, most reliable rocket platforms ever created.

[@orthonormality]

You had great questions and you received excellent responses from Jordi and Brigette. You all are listening to learn and not to respond. Jordi's statement about ownership is fundamental to success in anything. I'm very excited about Firefly.

[@ethans4783]

Hearing an engineer say "hold my beer" in real production context is baller af and highly praise firefly for their rapid in house manufacturing capabilities

[@nyeark]

If you like that, go watch the launch streams - Jordi's typical response as Chief Engineer to the Go/No-go and Final Commit for Launch polls is "Send it."

[@ilessthan3bees]

"I'm trying to get rid of the cork." I love that guy. You know you've reached max engineer when cork is too heavy. Edit: That guy next year be like "this aerogel isn't light enough"

[@judet2992]

lol

[@sciencecompliance235]

well yeah anything more than zero is too much.

[@nikolaideianov5092]

​@@sciencecompliance235they want that -5kg material

[@JulianDanzerHAL9001]

well you don'T wanna use that stuf fthicker than necessary either

[@sciencecompliance235]

@@nikolaideianov5092 exotic matter. then we get FTL

[@nate_0723]

I have to say I am really liking the more personal style your videos have had recently!

[@jeffk412]

was gonna say the same!

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

He said in one of the previous videos that he has to make an appearance throughout his video to prevent KZbin copiers from rebranding his videos as theirs. Its a big problem on YT, and watermarking your vid doesnt help these days - there are easy ways around it.

[@jeffk412]

@@AnotherPointOfView944 Yes! I find this a big problem on KZbin, so many "science" channels steeling other's content. Makes my blood boil.

[@JarrodFLif3r]

The SpaceX pad explosion was for a test fire, NOT a launch. That said if that were to happen with crew, the escape system ignite and the crew capsule would fly away and a parachute just off the coast. SpaceX did a pad abort AND an inflight abort to make sure this is an option. It is unique that the crew is on abort while the Falcon 9 is being fueled with their abort system armed.

[@cube2fox]

Related, currently it seems like their next rocket will no longer have a launch abort system. Their powered landing maneuver (it flips around in the last few seconds) seems also somewhat risky.

[@clevergirl4457]

@@cube2fox they don't plan to put people on it during launch and entry until at least 100 uncrewed flights and landings are completed- straight from Elon. by then it could have a detachable crew module.

[@oBCHANo]

@@clevergirl4457 Do you actually believe something he says?

[@clevergirl4457]

@@oBCHANo sometimes, yeah. Especially in this case because there is no way regulators are gonna let them launch crew from earth to space in starship if they announced it today. That’s just not how it works, they have to and will do dozens of flights before we even see a crew starship emerge.

[@lanzer22]

@@oBCHANo What grounds lead you to believe that he would purposely risk the lives of astronauts?

[@CosmicPerspective]

Awesome to see lots of our footage and audio captured during that historic first launch to orbit! Great video RE! and go FF!

[@RealEngineering]

Thank you for the helping with the video!

[@jebb125]

great advertisement for firefly having Real Engineering do this episode, I never heard of them. great show...

[@frankmalenfant2828]

There are many things I love about this video. First, you talk with actual engineers instead of CEOs, giving credit to the peoples working behind the scenes and creating new solutions in this industry. Second, you did the work and have the knowledge to complement the interview with educated guesses and research papers. Third, you paused a few times to illustrate the mentioned concepts, and give us time to digest the stream of information directed at us. This is great work! Keep it up!

[@RealEngineering]

Thank you for recognizing the work that went into this. So many comments on this have been just complaints and tribalism. So much so it was making me question ever covering the space industry again. I needed this today

[@eunomiac]

You're an _excellent_ interviewer. Your questions are always interesting, and I love that you're willing to sit silently and let the interviewee talk at length, putting their enthusiasm and expertise front-and-center.

[@FutureMartian97]

The statement at 7:22 is incorrect. If the same incident happened with crew the abort system would've triggered and got the crew out of there

[@bensemusx]

Ya that’s a pretty massive mistake.

[@Tsujikirii]

iirc it also happened during a static fire test and was a reason why they stopped doing them after payload integration.

[@stefanfl1200]

7:25 the crew would not have been lost. The Dragon capsule would be saved by the Superdraco thrusters

[@tsbrownie]

"Faulty valve" is a very common reason to hold or scrub a launch. It would be interesting to know the different failure modes of those valves, why they fail so often, and the technical issues that make fixing the problems so difficult.

[@jffanlashback]

9:05 Correction, BE-4 engines are manufactured in Huntsville, AL and are tested at MSFC and West Texas.

[@wenghiskhan3084]

NOTE: the exclusion zones at 6:08 are NOTAMS (notice to airmen) denoting TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) for aircraft. Specifically, the fan is 'from the surface up to and including FL180', and the long one is 'from surface up to unlimited'. These are examples of unreasonably large exclusion zones that caused a postponement of the Transporter 2 mission several years ago. Boating restrictions are typically limited to the ICW (intercostal waterway) as well as the security area immediately surrounding the launch site.

[@goobfilmcast4239]

If the DoD requires a payload in Space under these timelines, they would care less about fishing boats in Exclusion Zones or rules regarding engineer and technician work hours.

[@matthewsolis7075]

Firefly is cool I’m glad to see that spacex hasn’t killed the rest of the launch industry

[@weekiely1233]

The industry is perfectly alive. Most killing has been from the companies themselves

[@clevergirl4457]

SpaceX isn’t really killing anyone, they’re just making it harder for new comers and forcing the old guard to evolve.

[@lanzer22]

Yeah, poor Boeing being killed by SpaceX. Poor ULA who refuse to develop reusable rockets and would prefer to burn tax payer dollars. Oh poor them.

[@bluesteel8376]

There is lots of room for growth in the rocket industry. Demand is out stripping supply right now and as innovation leads to price decreases there will be even more demand.

[@goobfilmcast4239]

I'd like to see SpaceX run by engineers...with Elon Musk watching future launches on a TV from his permanent exile in South Africa.

[@roqua]

19:20 I'm not quite clear on what is meant by "propellant rich" zone. If the other recirculation zone is "fuel rich" does that make this oxidizer rich or truly just a more dense region of mixed F+O "propellant" that isn't as fully combusted as the third region marked in red?

[@RealEngineering]

I misspoke there. Both are fuel rich.

[@roqua]

@@RealEngineering Thanks for the clarification! This was a great video overall and I really appreciate the in-depth coverage of the 24-hour turnaround project.

[@vigneshkarthi3321]

Bro at 21:17 to eliminate soot formation they may add any fuel substance or use a catalyst system.

[@clintpmk2405]

The guy at the end gave us an hour worth of info in 20 mins. Man was running at 1.5x speed. Lol. Awesome video. Thanks for what you do.

[@plica06]

Thought this one looked a bit too long but stuck with it and was worth every minute. Brilliant.

[@geographicaloddity2]

"A ship like this, you treat her proper, she'll be with you the rest of your life." - Firefly

[@jaredray7034]

“And you paid money for this?”

[@HisCarlnessI]

Not only is there not a cork shortage, but the cork forests maintained by the need for cork provide a very important habitat for some bird species. A drop in the use of cork reduces the land use for these trees and threatens the birds. Where possible, use real cork.

[@Mottbox]

This was great. @realengineering You should do a Rocket Lab one! They are waaaaaaaaaay further along.

[@RealEngineering]

We are in talks with Rocket Lab

[@Mottbox]

@@RealEngineering This video was awesome btw; didn't mean to just say "NOW DO THIS" haha - great job.

[@cogoid]

@@RealEngineering Peter Beck likes to tell the story about the LR101 engine which he smuggled from the USA before staring the company. If you get a chance, could you ask him if he ever fired that engine up in NZ? Did it play any role in the subsequent development?

[@DrSleepVC]

can you do one for stoke? I think theyre the most interesting outside of rocketlab. But to my knowledge, theyre the ONLY company trying to do full reusability for a medium class rocket.

[@RealEngineering]

Working on getting access

[@voongnz]

I'm pretty sure the Neutron rocket in development right now from Rocketlab is a reusable medium-lift rocket too.

[@DrSleepVC]

@@voongnz rocket labs neutron is only partially reusable. Stoke is trying to do a fully reusable medium lift rocket.

[@voongnz]

@@DrSleepVC oh, noted thx.

[@finp9689]

Insanely interesting video and I love Jordi's entheusiasm and just how he talks about firefly's projects. I wish this video got more traction, because it's just so interesting.

[@rudolphjarrus7547]

5:37 ah yes the flacon 9😆😆

[@skjelm6363]

Eau de flacon, smells like 9

[@kingdodongo4126]

Grammar nazi are one of the lowest form of intelligence. Too preoccupied with redundancy in the message but not the message content. Claude Shannon would hate grammar nazis

[@nasonguy]

Waka Flocka Flacon 9

[@billdathrill5795]

I gotta say that the serenity/firefly vibe is strong with these people. Miranda engines, Rever engines, etc….. I love it!

[@1Elohim1]

20:50 If they have patents on the technology, it is not a secret for patents are published once issued.

[@theorixlux]

List of Firefly Aerospace Patents - Publication Number + Title US11026044B1 Determining Exposure To An Outdoor Display Unit US11008977B1 Liquid Rocket Engine Tap-Off Power Source US11391247B1 Liquid Rocket Engine Cooling Channels US11384713B1 Liquid Rocket Engine Tap-Off Power Source US11333104B1 Liquid Rocket Engine Cross Impinged Propellant Injection US11276333B2 Determination Of Parameters For Use Of An Outdoor Display Unit US20210400426A1 Determining Exposure To An Outdoor Display Unit US20210350413A1 Vehicle-Mounted Dynamic Content Delivery Systems US20210350414A1 Vehicle-Mounted Dynamic Content Delivery Systems US20210233115A1 Vehicle-Mounted Dynamic Content Delivery Systems US20210142355A1 Advertisement Effectiveness Determination US20220268239A1 Liquid Rocket Engine Tap-Off Power Source US20220180776A1 Determination Of Parameters For Use Of An Outdoor Display Unit WO2020081687A1 Vehicle-Mounted Dynamic Content Delivery Systems

[@theorixlux]

I guess posting patent numbers is frowned upon on KZbin?

[@noahhastings6145]

Patents can be classified

[@theorixlux]

@@noahhastings6145 that would make sense. There's a discrepancy between the patents filed and the patents declared (21 vs 14)

[@tomfeng5645]

Also, the patent process is slow while they seem to be moving very fast, so probably a lot of their patents are still pending.

[@PyroShim]

Great video! You are a great interviewer for sure. Really get the most information out of them that they are allowed to share.

[@bodlondeb]

Wouldn't Rocket Lab be suited more considering they were the fastest to reach 50 launches with Electron and are on track to compete with Falcon 9 with the development of Neutron by mid 2025?

[@jamesalexander3143]

I’ve gotten used to click bait titles on KZbin

[@patricklewis7636]

Firefly does not compete in the same market as spacex. Rocketlab is going to.

[@767er767er]

Agreed.

[@bobloblaw1636]

@@patricklewis7636 you didn't watch the video? Firefly is developing a 16 ton to orbit vehicle, MLV, with engine development further along than Archimedes.

[@patricklewis7636]

@@bobloblaw1636 saw the video. They are not competing on price. They are putting all their engineering resources into reliable, fast, precise delivery. They want to go from "do this" to in space in as short a time as possible. That's not SpaceX. SpaceX is building big riggs. This is more like a cargo van.

[@superconfort]

What a bunch of talented people. Including you. I loved your chats. Thanks from Spain

[@EricaCalman]

What she's describing is combustor tap-off, which is arguably simpler but not necessarily more reliable. The temperatures of the main combustion chamber are way higher than a gas generator so it saves some mass and part count but the turbine itself has to be built much sturdier to handle it. You can fix that by mixing some extra fuel in to cool is before reaching the turbine but then you're sort of right back where you started plus you get the performance losses she mentioned. A gas generator really isn't that heavy or complicated but there are other benefits to CTO which ironically are mostly throttleability.

[@EricaCalman]

The whole pulling cooler has from pockets of exhaust at lower temperatures is really slick but might be a tad temperamental.

[@colonelcrockett2250]

Hey I’m a structures technician who builds Firefly’s rockets! :D so glad to see you covering our company!

[@keithrange4457]

You are 1 lucky guy to get this sort of access to an up and coming rocket company! 1) Im so green with envy 😂 2) Thank you for sharing this fantastic interview!!

[@duckner]

If you're ever in Austin, I could get you a tour

[@absolutechaos13]

For anyone curious, the bit at about 21:00 is techno-babel for "I can't tell you". "Proprietary and Pattented" is oxymoronic. "Proprietary" means "this is a trade secret, so I can't tell you," think Coke's secret formula. "Patented" is saying, "This is my idea, don't copy it yet." Drug formulations is a common example. "Proprietary and patented" is like saying, "Don't copy my work, but I won't tell you what it is even if you do." Or "Here is the secret formula. Please don't read it." Occasionally what they mean is that there are some parts that are patented and some that are trade secrets. But 9 times out of 10 what they are trying to do is say it is proprietary but imply the weight of legal restrictions.

[@lovemyself217]

I think Rocket Lab is more suited candidate as next SpaceX

[@theguyfromsaturn]

The more players the better though.

[@lovemyself217]

@@theguyfromsaturn agree

[@colegustafson199]

Stoke

[@untamedzer0]

They've been considered Space X's primary threat as far as competition for a long time.

[@Qwarzz]

@@untamedzer0 They haven't really been competing with SpaceX yet. Neutron definitely will.

[@linkaishen3574]

You know it’s a good millennium when real engineering uploads

[@JamesTurfKing]

Firefly’s cool but Rocket Labs or Stoke Space would probably be closer to a new SpaceX.

[@cube2fox]

Or perhaps Relativity Space. They are developing a rocket comparable to Falcon 9. 23.5 tons to LEO, lower stage reusable.

[@767er767er]

100% agreed. Time will tell! Peter Beck and rocketlab are no joke.

[@JulianDanzerHAL9001]

@@cube2fox yeah but you're not gonna be the new space x by doing somethign similar to space x the whole success of space x comes fro mdoing osmething different from what existed before, in this case a reusable heavy rocket if you want a similar amount of success you need to do something new as well like a reusable light rocket or a cheap lowtech light rocket or a rapidly responding medium rocket or well, literally anything that DOESN'T compete 1:1 with space x which already oversaturates its own market

[@cube2fox]

@@JulianDanzerHAL9001 But Relativity Space currently has the only serious Falcon 9 competitor in development, apart from Blue Origin's "New Glenn".

[@simianfarmer]

Are the "reaver" engines so named because it's a Firefly? Is this a company of Browncoats?!

[@BrannonAerospace]

Yup. Also, both the company name and they’re vacuum engine for they’re larger rocket (Viranda, an obscure moon from the show) are taken from Firefly. EDIT: Also, FLTA0002 was called “2 the Black”, after the slogan.

[@NickFajardo]

@@BrannonAerospace *Miranda, after the location from the movie

[@brianknow9142]

Yes and yes.

[@moonasha]

yep. They're probably saving Serenity for a big one lol

[@Phoen1x883]

Immensely based.

[@jakajakos]

Firefly is awesome and i hope they achieve success like SpaceX

[@RatzBuddie]

13:10 Please correct me if I'm wrong, totally simplifying this. It sounds like a weird turbocharger for an ICE but on a rocket. A rocketcharger, if you will, that directly powers the fuel and oxide pumps (after ignition)

[@michaelfoster6691]

FYI, Blue's engine manufacturing facility is actually in Huntsville Alabama, less than a 30 minute ride to the test stand at MSFC.

[@michaeld7126]

Manufacturing yes, he said engineering. Which is in Kent, WA

[@michaelfoster6691]

​@@michaeld7126He did say engineering, but he also stated engineering AND manufacturing.

[@michaeld7126]

@@michaelfoster6691just went back and rewatched it, missed that for sure. He isn’t technically wrong either as there is manufacturing in Kent. I will agree that it seems kind of odd to skip over the massive manufacturing plant less than half an hour from the test stand though

[@michaelfoster6691]

@@michaeld7126 yeah, the facility is fairly recent though, so I understand the oversight.

[@kevindegroot846]

This could be a subtle puff piece for an up and coming upstart and I wouldn't care. When the focus is on the engineering, the challenges overcome, the people involved, the problems solved, and the challenges ahead; this is how it should be done. The best engineering page on KZbin bar none. Helps that he's an Irish engineer and so am I so I might be biased haha

[@pseudotasuki]

7:24 If it had been a crewed launch, the LES would have been automatically triggered, carrying the capsule away from the rocket.

[@BOMBON187]

9:52 That is the most unprofessional looking VP of Engineering I've ever seen. And I love it!

[@clevergirl4457]

Amazing video Brian! I would love more videos like this about less well known companies not called SpaceX. Maybe Relativity? Rocketlab?

[@linecraftman3907]

RFA or stoke would be good visits too

[@ectorwillis9228]

I really like the almost podcast type feel you've gone too, I really love your videos and love learning about what you talk about

[@snakevenom4954]

7:22 This is simply not true. In fact, SpaceX's load and go is much, much safer for crew than the traditional way of doing it. Once the astronauts are seated and locked in, the abort computers and motors are turned on. This instantly saves the crew from any explosion from the rocket. Something to note is that what happens if a fueled rocket explodes while the crew is climbing the tower? A fully fueled vehicle is more dangerous than a completely empty vehicle that's being fueled under you with your abort mode activated 16:20 Raptor is not the first of its kind. It's the third. First one was the RD-270. A hypergolic engine and the second was the Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator. A Hydrolox full flow staged combustion engine. However, it is the first Full Flow Engine to ever fly

[@mr.boomguy]

Right. The question is just if it can abort in time

[@toasterbathboi6298]

Came to the comments to say this. Seems much safer to approach an empty rocket and wait until the crew is inside the vehicle and the pad is clear to begin fueling, as opposed to having to approach a fully fueled rocket and having hundreds of ground crew standing next to this fully fueled rocket for hours while they get stuff ready for lainch

[@isaktheswede]

@@mr.boomguy Looking at the AMOS-6 explosion, dragon could probably make it mostly unscathed with maybe some burn marks on it in an abort scenario such as that.

[@plumberman19]

i love getting into thermodynamics, its soooo overlooked by sooo many lay folks. Especially Jim Bob in the garage lol.

[@confusedspartan3525]

Interesting tradeoffs, and unique offering

[@DaddyEric222]

I used cork to insulate parts of my campervan build! You should do a whole video on cork. They didn’t even mention how good it is at vibration/sound deadening plus moisture control. Cork just happens to be one of the most sustainable tree products because the trees don’t need to be cut down! A very cool material for sure

[@Hogla287]

37:22, I hope those guys got bonuses that year after performance reviews

[@palladin9479]

"That's an eight month delay, wait hold my beer" was one of the most epic things I could of heard. But yeah this is the type of innovation you get when your staff is full of people who care about and own the results instead of suits waiting out retirement.

[@kentowakai1234]

ITAR! It just got real!

[@tryknight1426]

This might be my favorite video you've put out! Obviously setting up interviews with companies that have super strict itar is very hard but i'd love to see more content like this.

[@a3vus]

The description of fireflys work ethic is nightmarish and nigh-unethical, with insane hours, dewcribing things like taking weekends off as problems, and providing 1/3rd the original time promised. They're the new SpaceX alright. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day someone will make a mistake or willfully ignore a problem for the sake of meeting timelines and someone might get hurt as a consequence.

[@brokensoap1717]

I've seen SpaceX employees online actually bragging about this.

[@TheNuclearBolton]

I’ve had a supervisor work a 19 hour shift and he told me he wouldn’t change anything about it that he loved it. At the time I was one of the only employees working voluntary hours to learn equipment outside of production hours and i think he was becoming competitive with me.

[@arkturhellsing1484]

I immediately got a red flag when the guy said it might sound silly that they have to worry about crew going to sleep. They are going to kill people with one of their launches.

[@billyjones6626]

You don't get to dictate what another person chooses as their work-life balance.

[@arkturhellsing1484]

@@billyjones6626 I do actually. Its called literally any job that involves the death of non-employees. What do you think time off and time constraints for truckers come from?

[@slevinshafel9395]

7:57 finally we get the face of this awsome chanel.

[@SephirothRyu]

When nerds have full control (and don't get into too many arguments, nerds love doing this sometimes), you get sci-fi references everywhere, and things done.

[@JoshuaC923]

What a great video, the interviews were amazing. Hope they succeed more!

[@untamedzer0]

Anyone else have to fight off a laugh and a comment along the lines of "yeah, that's pretty common for rocket nerds" when he says "we've never mated before...?"

[@JulianDanzerHAL9001]

not on the launch pad

[@MisterChillman]

Great content as usual! Thank you for making these videos

[@IanZainea1990]

21:32 if they've filed patents like she said then I think you can look those up right? Or are some patents not public?

[@silverXnoise]

Yes, and yes.

[@duckner]

Patents related to arms and aerospace (ITAR) are sealed from the public. To figure out if a patent exists, someone would need to file a similar patent.

[@bmx666bmx666]

Fantastic engineering work has been done! I love how they explained the challenges they faced. It's amazing to see science in action!

[@borgesguerardi]

really digging the commentary footage! makes for a much more intimate video :)

[@RealEngineering]

I'm glad someone likes them. I have been doing the video essay format for so long that it feels extremely jarring to me still.

[@lythd]

really enjoyed this one! i loved the interviews too they both seemed like such cool and knowledgeable people

[@SteveWindsurf]

We stand on the shoulders of giants. SpaceX, Relativity, Firefly, Rocket lab & Stoke are exploring fundamentally new technologies, exciting times. Only way is up.

[@jaredray7034]

As a geologist, I object to this viewpoint. DOWN is clearly an option.😊

[@inspire_narrative]

Fantastic visuals. Really appreciate the effort put in to help non-technical viewers like me to follow along with your explanations!

[@robnobert]

SpaceX doesn't just dominate over every launch company 😅 over the last year they've launched more than every other company AND stare entity COMBINED, launching ~90% of all mass to orbit globall!!! In the two-ish weeks SpaceX Falcon 9 was recently grounded in July of '24... as Scott Manley recently pointed out... guess how many orbital rockets were launched across the world? ... 😅 ONE. A Chinese Long March 4B on July 19th.

[@OpenThisGate87]

Phenolic sure will absorb moisture as I unhappily discovered when the phenolic brake caliper pistons on my truck swelled making it impossible to install new pads, while on a road trip a thousand miles from home.

[@noonenoesbutme]

Absolutely love seeing the VP of engineering going into a major interview in a beanie and a tank top. I'm the lead mechanical engineer for my division at a multi-billion dollar technology company. I go to work everyday in shorts and a t-shirt. Our company is headquartered in Europe, and everybody there wears business casual to work. I have traveled many times to our headquarters for critical meetings and factory oversight, and I refuse to change what I wear just because I'm in Europe. I will always dress the same way I dress America in front of the Europeans - for me it's a point of pride. I'm also young, not even 30. I have gotten used to people doubting my ability because on the only guy in the room and shorts and a t-shirt and I look much younger than I actually am. Then when it's time to get to work and I get to work I prove through my performance that I am an excellent engineer. I can easily tell the point at which the pretentious Europeans go from totally doubting me to understanding that I'm great at what I do. Engineers and company management having dress codes is a holdover from the 1920s. Screw that. It is a stupid and superficial requirement and has nothing to do with hiring the most competent person for the role. Benjamin Franklin would visit the king of France during the revolutionary war In his farmer's outfit. He specifically did not want to conform to the crown. As such I carry this tradition by wearing casual clothing that I would wear outside of work. Long live dress codes becoming obsolete for jobs in which you are paid for your brain and ability.

[@NeedsLessWedge]

Yeah I tell my old lady clothes are overrated..😂

[@BuzzMoves365]

Your no dress code has become a dress code and you will judge.

[@Shinkajo]

Dress codes are way more of a thing in the US than Europe, bud. Also I'm not advocating for them, but they exist for a reason. If you are representing millions in investments, people like to know that you're serious and respectful. They also make things simpler. Also also, they way you seem to focus on clothes leads me to believe that you care about them more than the people who just put on a button down and some slacks and call it a day.

[@macebobkasson1629]

I love the story that you're telling here. These new videos are very impressive and I want to commend the effort that obviously goes into them :)

[@nothingaroundus_]

with that many design iterations, the quality engineers must be living on coffee and anxiety

[@Lamprolign]

Great production. Your work was one of the reasons that I subscribed to Nebula.

[@arkturhellsing1484]

Can you find out if they are taking precautions against crews being sleep deprived? Part of that interview scared the crap out of me when he joked about crew readiness being a silly thing to worry about.

[@chromesucks5299]

he said that 90 engineers worked on that component for 41 days, including day and night, so yeah hell no, its crunch crunch crunch.

[@DutchKC9UOD]

Love Fire Fly, nice to see another “SpaceX” type rocket 🚀 would love to see Dream Chaser launch 🚀

[@justdiegplus]

Take me out to the black Tell 'em I ain't coming back Burn the land, boil the sea You can't take the sky from me

[@jaredray7034]

Damn. I left my banjo in my other pants.

[@rowanhaigh8782]

This was amazing! I’m in awe of these extraordinary people!❤

[@camerontiggs5978]

can you make a video about the VentureStar and or the DeltaClipper ssto(s)?

[@sciencecompliance235]

I immediately thought of the X-33 when he was talking about the composite tanks without liners.

[@JulianDanzerHAL9001]

could be itneresting but well, there's no final verison or current progress

[@Simpl3Pedro]

Amazing video! Thank you very much! I will follow this company since now! Thank you very much!!

[@r00kie36]

The SpaceX Flacon 9 must be one hell of a bottle :D 5:35

[@JulianDanzerHAL9001]

I mean liquid rockets are basically big bottles iwth some extra parts

[@vx8952]

This was an incredible video, it was great to get a look int the work firefly do, fascinating!

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

I think BlueOrigin, Rocket lab, Firefly, and maybe StokeSpace are the best contenders to compete with SpaceX. Sadly I don’t think ULA will be able to compete with any of them. Starship is going to change the game all over again - both in lift capacity and cost per kilogram. Other than stoke space, the other contenders are focusing on catching up more than creating new capabilities/technology.

[@silverXnoise]

Yeah, ULA’s only got, what, 100% success rate? Try competing with Starship’s 0%, that’s where the big boys get it done! 🙄

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

Dude, that’s just not a credible argument and anyone who knows anything about the space industry knows it. If you don’t like SpaceX because you don’t like Elon’s view of free speech, politics, or personality then make that argument. At this point arguing that ULA is doing great and SpaceX is a failure simply looks foolish. Listen to the video - SpaceX had more launches and contracts than the rest of the world combined. Everyone else is playing catch up and ULA is retiring all their reliable rockets, because they aren’t competitive anymore. Starship is in development right now, so obviously they haven’t done any missions. Your arguments will only work on the woefully ignorant.

[@weekiely1233]

@@silverXnoisestarship is in development my guy. It has no payload launch outcomes Yet it’s development flights have had a 50% success rate and that will obviously go up as their development cycle has demonstrated in the past

[@jaredray7034]

Watching a starship launch in my family is always a weird experience. On the one hand, we’re all space, exploration enthusiasts, so we want each launch to be a success. On the other hand, we’re a bunch of redneck hillbillies with a fondness for explosions.😂 Either way, very entertaining. If Elon can ever get them to stop exploding, I agree that it will be a game changer.

[@nick-xz2ej]

"If you have cracks you have boom booms" had me rolling! 😂