JPL and the Space Age: The Breaking Point
348,017
Published 2022-09-22
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
All Comments (21)
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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.
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It's pretty wild that this feature length documentary about one of the premier science organizations in the USA has under 600 views
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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.
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These JPL documentaries are so great, thank you!
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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.
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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.
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Mistake makers that pick themselves up, learn from those mistakes, and make PROGRESS! Learning is what makes us great inventors.
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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..!
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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.
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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...
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Can't wait for the premiere! These documentaries are really great.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Such a dark, sad time, but JPL has been spectacular since...MER rovers, Curiosity, Percy, Cassini, etc.
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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!!! ❤🇬🇧🇺🇸🇦🇺🏴🇨🇦🇺🇦🇳🇿🇪🇺☮️🇳🇿🇺🇦👍🇨🇦🏴🇦🇺🇺🇸🇬🇧
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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.
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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.
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Good series. Look forward to many more.
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Great documentary. Also incredible to see Dan Goldin fearlessly contradict himself.
