The Saturn V's Direction Problem

Have you ever wondered about the guidance systems onboard rockets like the Saturn V that took the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon? How about how these guidance systems influence their trajectory? In this video about the incredible alignment of the Saturn V, I’m going to take a deeper look at the Saturn 5’s guidance system, and show you how a hidden bunker below the launch pad helped to keep it pointing in the right direction.

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Our animation rendering machine

Short on time? Feel free to skip ahead in this video using the chapter links below.

00:00 Saturn V Guidance Problem
00:54 How Did Saturn V Navigate?
02:32 How a Gyroscope Guides a Rocket
04:11 Resetting the Saturn V Gyroscopes

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Music used in this video:
Lights In The Abyss - Serge Pavkin Music
Pond Life - Jamie West-Oram
Go Down Swinging - NEFFEX
Lemon Drops ft. Jacquire King - Stephan Sharp
Nebula Light - Serge Pavkin Music

#Nasa #SaturnV #Apollo11

[primalspace]

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[timbotron]

It's absolutely incredible that the Saturn V went from paper design to flight in just six years. Such small but crucial details like this are mind-blowing

[KriegZombie]

I was told that the missile always knows where it is because it knows where it isn't.

[Nova-prcw]

Crazy I can think of millions of things which can go wrong in such a delicate system, this stuff worked is a miracle on its own kudos to engineers and everyone who were involved in building this

[devindykstra]

The 3d animation in this one is absolutely on point! Great job!

[PaulinaStopa]

Interesting to see how advanced the Saturn V's guidance system was, especially when compared to other systems of the era. For instance, during the space race, there was a notable incident where a Russian rocket self-destructed on the launch pad. The rocket had switched to its onboard guidance system, but a hold was put on the launch. The safety protocols, mistakenly identifying that the rocket was not oriented correctly, triggered an explosion for 'safety' reasons. It's fascinating to see how each country tackled the monumental challenges of space navigation and the critical role that guidance systems played in these endeavors.

[paulhsv]

My Dad was part of the team that designed that gyro. He also had a patent to the gyro mounted on the lunar rover. I bragged to my sons one time that I had my fingerprints in space. I work in aerospace industry. He immediately replied, “I have my fingerprints on the moon.” Check mate. 😂

[VintageAviation]

in my opinion I think that the Saturn V / CSM/ LM were the best vehicles ever designed. All of their issues were solved so cleverly using 60s era technology. Really goes to show what a special team NASA had during the Apollo era.

[anirprasadd]

Most people don't realize that the Saturn V was the epitome of human engineering at the time. The sheer number of innovations and breakthroughs, along with solving the engineering challenges involved makes it mind-boggling.

[ob]

I am speechless. The Saturn V was so incredible piece of engineering. Imagine having this gyro mechanism on a rocket today - that's absolutely unthinkable 🤯

[mikefochtman]

I worked with navigational gyrocompasses for the Navy at one point. They used a similar 'followup' system to sense the minute changes in gyro torques and amplify them for the actual platform positioning. And during startup, used a simple 'ball level erector' system that relied on simply steel balls in a shallow bowl-like compartment to 'detect down' when first starting up.

[stpdrpandtrll]

As an engineering student myself, the visuals in this video are so helpful in conveying how the system works versus how it is described. Thank you so much for the amazing content!

[lewismassie]

There was a soviet launch that was aborted before liftoff. About 30 minutes later the launch escape system activated itself and launched the capsule away from the rocket. It was later found that the internal gyros had read the rotation of the earth as the rocket flying off course and activated the LES

[briarroseella]

I already understood that Saturn V was crazy impressive by understanding how powerful it was, but the more I learn about things like this, the more insane this rocket becomes. This is mindblowingly awesome!!!

[davidben-avram]

It's amazing to think about how complex the Saturn V gyro alignment was. This system enabled the rocket to accurately point in the right direction, despite the immense power and force of the launch. In order to understand how this system works, engineers had to understand complex concepts like the precession of gyroscopes, and the integration of multiple gyroscopes to provide an accurate orientation of the rocket - something that was an incredible feat of engineering in the 1960s. It's truly remarkable to think how much technology has advanced since then, and how much more complex our rockets have become

[rigel]

This was the most sophisticated explanation ever given by you in this channel.
I was so blown away that I grabbed my chair initially and prepared myself to boost my testosterone level at it's peak to make myself understand the complex engineering problems that needed to be solved in order to get a footprint on the moon.
A BIG owe to you for making this video so easy to understand and fun to watch.

[robrussell]

... and it always worked. 15 launches. 15 successful launches.

[AMPlays]

It's absolutely incredible that the Saturn V went from paper design to flight in just six years. Such small but crucial details like this are mind-blowing

This was the most sophisticated explanation ever given by you in this channel.
I was so blown away that I grabbed my chair initially and prepared myself to boost my testosterone level at it's peak to make myself understand the complex engineering problems that needed to be solved in order to get a footprint on the moon.

[Spartan]

Every time I see a video about the Saturn V, I learn something new. But this infra red light calibration method is just mind blowingly awesome. Thank you for making this!

[thatAlex]

Wow, the Saturn V's gyroscope was truly a marvel of engineering! It's amazing how such a small device could help stabilize a rocket that was over 300 feet tall and weighing over 6 million pounds. It just goes to show the incredible attention to detail and precision that went into every aspect of the Apollo missions. Hats off to the brilliant minds behind the Saturn V's gyroscope!