Can a Spacecraft Survive Without Power in Space?

Bright Side

In space, losing power is a huge problem for a spacecraft. Without power, the systems controlling navigation, communication, and even life support (if it's a crewed mission) can shut down. Some spacecraft have backup batteries, but those only last so long. If solar panels get damaged or blocked, there's no way to recharge, and the spacecraft could drift aimlessly. It’s not all doom, though—clever engineers design fail-safes, like systems that reboot or reroute power in emergencies. But still, power loss in space is a bit like a car running out of gas in the middle of nowhere—except you can’t call for a tow truck!  Credit: Upgrading Hubble: By NASA - http://hubble.nasa.gov/multimedia/hubble.php, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=942493 Working inside Hubble: By NASA - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-125/html/s125e008656.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6824624 STS-103 Hubble EVA: By NASA - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/shuttle/sts-103/html/sts103_713_048.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3738258 STS-31 Launch: By NASA/photographer unknown, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6449041 Atlantis undock ISS: By NASA, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11146175 Dream Chaser: By Ken Ulbrich/NASA - http://mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/detail.cfm?mediaid=66311, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27705564 Space Shuttle: By NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/space-shuttle/ Mir Space Station: By NASA - https://archive.org/details/STS089-340-035, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18427023 Record Voyager 1: By NASA - http://images.ksc.nasa.gov/photos/1977/captions/KSC-77P-0196.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4285811 The Sounds of Earth: By NASA - https://web.archive.org/web/20110912123742/http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2000-001976.html, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6455682 Voyager Goes Interstellar: By NASA / JPL-Caltech - http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA17046, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28366203 Voyager spacecraft model: By NASA, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66602695 Animation is created by Bright Side.  #brightside   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Listen to Bright Side on:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960  Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00Let's say a spacecraft runs out of power far in deep space.

00:05It wouldn't fall in the traditional sense because there's no gravity.

00:09Newton once said that an object remains in motion unless acted upon by an external force.

00:15In our case, this external force is gravity.

00:19In other words, if there's nothing with gravity around, it would continue to move due to inertia.

00:25It would keep going the way it did, without us being able to change its trajectory or

00:29adjust it in any way.

00:32It would keep traveling through deep space almost forever, well at least until radiation

00:37and cosmic rays destroy it.

00:40And unless some celestial body like an asteroid doesn't destroy it either.

00:45And of course, unless it encounters something with a gravitational pull like a planet or

00:50a star.

00:51The likelihood of all this depends on the location and trajectory of the spacecraft.

00:57Voyager 1 was launched by NASA in 1977.

01:01It's been on its journey for almost 50 years now.

01:04Right now, it's the farthest human-made object from Earth, more than 50 billion miles away.

01:11It's already very far from all our planets, and it's the first spacecraft to enter interstellar

01:16space, the vast, empty space that exists between stars in a galaxy.

01:22It's the space outside our solar system, where there are no planets, moons, or other objects

01:29associated with our Sun.

01:31However, it's still in our solar system.

01:34To leave it, Voyager 1 needs to bypass the Oort cloud, a big, icy collection of objects

01:40where all the comets in our solar system probably come from.

01:44It will take Voyager about 300 years to reach the inner edge of the cloud, and then about

01:4930,000 years to bypass it.

01:52Voyager 1 has a special plate on board, like a message in a bottle.

01:57This plate is called the Golden Record.

02:00It's not really golden, it's actually a shiny gold color.

02:03On this plate, there are things that tell a story about Earth.

02:07It was created in case Voyager ever encounters any extraterrestrial beings.

02:13The record has greetings in different languages, music from Earth, and even the sounds of nature

02:18like birds chirping and the wind blowing.

02:21As the distance between us increases, the signal strength from Voyager 1 weakens over time.

02:28Eventually, it may become too weak to be detected by our communication equipment.

02:32The power output of Voyager 1's engine also declines over time.

02:37It's slowly running out of fuel.

02:40When all its systems shut down, we will lose contact with the spacecraft.

02:45Voyager 1 will work until 2025.

02:48After that, it will continue its journey on inertia.

02:51Luckily, it was designed to last, and the chance that it will encounter anything on

02:56its way is very small.

02:59Considering this, it might even keep going for billions of years.

03:03One day it might even reach other star systems, and maybe even outlast our Sun.

03:09The same goes for Voyager 2.

03:11It will keep traveling until it reaches interstellar space, joining its twin brother.

03:17Voyager 2 will continue to send us scientific and systematic data for a while even in interstellar space.

03:24However, it will also cease to function eventually, becoming a silent artifact drifting through

03:29the Milky Way.

03:32When there's something with gravity near the spacecraft, the inevitable happens.

03:36It falls onto that object.

03:39This is why out of the vast South Pacific Ocean beyond New Zealand lies a unique and

03:44intriguing place known as the Spacecraft Cemetery.

03:48Officially, it's called the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area.

03:52It's located near Point Nemo, the most remote spot from any island.

03:57It serves as the final resting place for spacecraft that have completed their missions and reached

04:02their lifetime limit due to wear and tear.

04:06Sometimes, these larger spacecraft are too hefty to burn up during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

04:12In that case, they're directed to crash or splash down in this remote ocean location.

04:17This helps protect us from any potential harm during re-entry and impact.

04:22There are, however, some big problems with this place.

04:27Scientists are worried about the impact this spacecraft cemetery has on the ocean.

04:32When spaceships come back to Earth, they often spill chemicals.

04:37One of these chemicals is hydrazine, a dangerous rocket substance.

04:41Unfortunately, it might not completely burn up during re-entry, so it leaks out into the

04:46ocean, posing a threat not only to marine life, but to us as well.

04:51We made up some rules, both within countries and internationally, to stop this.

04:56However, it's not easy to figure out how risky it is for certain spacecraft to enter the

05:00cemetery.

05:02We can't say for sure how much of a substance is left after it enters the air.

05:08As for spacecraft that don't fall, they're often left in space as debris.

05:13This is what we call any man-made object orbiting Earth that's no longer useful.

05:19It's also very dangerous.

05:20There are over 27,000 pieces of space debris orbiting Earth at high speeds.

05:26All this puts human and robot missions at risk and harms spacecraft.

05:33As we mentioned, usually we get rid of space debris by trying to bring the crafts back

05:37to Earth.

05:39This makes them burn up when they re-enter due to high speeds and air pressure.

05:44This usually works with smaller objects.

05:47There are also riskier methods, like letting spacecraft break down themselves or crash

05:52into other things or blow up.

05:55These methods aren't great because they just make up even more debris, even if it's smaller.

06:00So now, scientists are trying to find new ways to get rid of retired spacecraft.

06:06For example, nets and magnetic arms.

06:10There's also a thing called reusable spacecraft.

06:14It's a space vehicle that's built to be used more than once.

06:17For example, space planes such as the Space Shuttle and the Dream Chaser or capsules like

06:22the SpaceX Dragon.

06:24They're designed to launch, orbit, come back to Earth and do it all over again.

06:30But it's important to make sure these spacecraft and their passengers or cargo stay safe during

06:35the return, which is quite hard to do.

06:38Reusable spacecraft have special systems to guide them back to Earth safely.

06:43The Space Shuttle, for example, had OMS pods, sort of special backpacks that help the spacecraft

06:49move and control its position in space.

06:52The SpaceX Dragon had its own engines to slow down and enter the atmosphere in a controlled

06:58way.

06:59They also have a heat shield to protect it during re-entry.

07:03The heat shield can be made of different materials, but they need to be tough and able to withstand

07:08multiple trips.

07:10Coming up with a heat shield that's both strong and lightweight is a bit of a challenge.

07:16Finally, if a spacecraft lands on a runway, it needs wings and landing gear.

07:21They also add weight.

07:23Some designs like lifting bodies or the delta wing of the Space Shuttle try to reduce the

07:28mass of these parts.

07:30After landing, the spacecraft might need some fixing up before it can go on its next adventure.

07:36This process can take a while, up to a year, and it might not always be possible to use

07:40the spacecraft again if it's been fixed up.

07:44There's also a limit to how many times a spacecraft can be fixed and used again before it has

07:49to retire.

07:51Different spacecraft have different abilities to be reused.

07:55Finally, sometimes we can rescue a spacecraft, or even remake and repurpose it.

08:02Voyager 2 is one of the examples.

08:04It had a little trouble with its radio in 1978.

08:08Engineers fixed it by using a backup system.

08:11Since then, it's been exploring our solar system for over 40 years.

08:16The Hubble Space Telescope is the most famous telescope we have, the grandfather of them

08:21all.

08:22However, it had a blurry start in 1990.

08:25The work wasn't done at all as expected.

08:28The pictures were of low resolution.

08:30Luckily, astronauts fixed it right in space in 1993.

08:35To do that, they used some corrective mirrors.

08:38Now it gives us fantastic views of the universe!

08:42As you can see, even in bad scenarios, there are many possible options to solve spacecraft-related

08:48problems.

08:49That's it for today!

08:50So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your

08:55friends!

08:56Or, if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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