I was a Titan II engineer. I noticed a trivial mistake. The start cartridge is like a shotgun shell. It explodes to create the gas that causes the turbine to start spinning. The sound you hear is the turbine spinning up. That starts the APU (using the hypergolic combustion) which pumps the fuel and oxidizer into the combustion chamber. The APU is like a small rocket engine and, if you can find a high quality video or picture, you can see the exhaust from the APU as the rocket rises.
Thats not correct. An explosion is generally defined as a rapid expansion in volume of any kind. If the expansion is supersonic its regarded as a detonation, if its subsonic then its deflagration.
As a historic plane nut, I immediately recognised the cartridge sound from watching Canberra bombers in both the US and UK types start-up. They still use cartridges, but have much smaller and lighter turbines, so they have a much higher noise.
I worked for Aerojet for many years and had the opportunity to sit 700 feet from a Titan first stage at the test stand in Sacramento and when the engine fired we heard a big bang then the engine rumbled to life a few seconds later. It was amazing to experience it in person and in proximity to the engine. I saw many tests over the years there at the Sacto plant and trust me, nothing compares to a big engine or motor firing.
I am 67 years old and grew up watching and closely following each launch, I still retain that interest. I love your videos, and especially like the one explaining the sound that the Gemini-Titan II first stage engine turbo-pumps made. I always loved that sound! Keep up the good work!!
That sound is very similar to tractor trucks that use an air motor to start their engines. It sounds almost exactly like the air impact-wrenches you hear at a tire service center.
I watched every manned Gemini launch as a kid, and remember hearing that sound several times. I always thought it was the sound of air being pushed through and out of the tower exhaust deflection tunnel (notice the blast exhaust goes to the left side in this video). I've thought this for 50 years and finally found out the correct answer!
I love how the space shuttle sounds when it's main engines fire. At first it's just a mess of a noise but a few seconds in it changes into a consistent more pleasing whooshing sound as the engines stabilize moments before the booster ignition.
I love your channel! I was a boy of 6 during the Gemini days. In fact, we lived in Houston! I can never look back to my early years without Gemini and Apollo showing very prominently. Sure miss those days! I never was a a sports fan. The Astronauts were my team! To a young boy, they were 9' tall and bullet proof. I can't agree more with you about Pete Conrad. I'll bet he was a real cool guy to hang around with! Never a dull moment around him, eh?
I served in the US Air Force at Patrick Air Force Base, just south of Cocoa Beach, from November 1963 until mid 1966. I was the driver and aide to the Commander, 6555th Aerospace Test Wing and as such I attended all of the Gemini-Titain launches at Cape Kenndy. I also got to meet most of the astronauts.
robyrobyroby12345 I'm not sure it was the same combination but yes, it was hypergols. I think the SPS engine on the CSM was as well. When I'm not in New Horizons mode I'll look into it and maybe do a video on what fuel/oxidizer combinations were used where. Not the sexiest topic but interesting!
robyrobyroby12345 Yes that was the same fuel. It was also used by the Descent Propulsion System of the LM and the Service Propulsion System of the CSM.
I was in kindergarten when we watched the launch of Apollo 7 in class here in Houston, Tx. First manned Apollo flight, of course. I doubt if you were around then, but I sure can appreciate your knowledge of our space program history!
You explained it well. I recall hearing that odd sound in several Gemini Titan launch videos and though I was a Titan troop in the military (1980-83), I never got to witness a Titan II launch and here that noise live. I recall the start carts as we used to call them. But I was mainly electronics and guidance (E-lab) and didn't work on propulsion systems.
As a kid, I followed many of the launches and missions of NASA, from the early Mercuries to the Apollos. Nostalgic to think how much was accomplished and achieved in such a short time. Great video.
Thanks for the videos. I am glad that I found them. I grew up watching all of these space adventures. I did a quick search of your videos and did not see one about how Gordon Cooper lost all of his instruments while in orbit and had only his watch and manual control to bring him down safely. Could you research that flight and do a video?
It wasn't the start cartridge but mainly the turbo pumps winding up to speed which made the noise. I heard plenty of them on Titan IIIB launches at Vandenberg. In real life it sounded like a jet engine starting up super fast. BTW the start cartridge was like a small solid fuel rocket.
bit late to the party for this one, but thanks for the video Amy. I've watched a lot of old launch videos over the years and wondered exactly what that obnoxious noise was. I used to have an old beat up chevy that made exactly the same noise when i turned the motor over. thought it was a slipping belt but now i know it was the start cartridge.
I did knew about cartridges for jet engines startup, but i've never think of them for starting a turbopump and making this funny noise. hahahaha Thank you, for another excellent video, Amy!
Great explanation! I've watched nearly every watch video from Mercury through Apollo (several times) and never noticed this sound on Gemini. And now, thanks to this video, I can't help but notice it. Thank you for unclogging my ears, lol.
Starter cartridges have been used in aviation for many years. Watch a typical 50s jet such as a Canberra (or its American version, the Martin B-57) start up and you'll see and hear the cartridges light up. They produce a lot of thick black smoke although in a rocket launch the smoke would be overwhelmed by the much thicker rocket exhaust.
I always subconsciously noticed that Titan II missile ignition sound, but somehow attributed it to being the result of relatively primitive rocket engine technology. Another great informative video from Amy!
Amy, I have two comments. The first one is simple....I am so glad that you make these videos, you are pleasant to listen to, you explain things in a form that non-engineers can follow and you always seem to be having fun. My second comment is a bit irrelevant but here goes...I think you are cute as a doll. As a 50 year old man, having grown up entirely in the "Space Age", the topic can get really dry and technical. You brighten up the topic with a lovely smile, a sweet personality and a very attractive appearance. I can always look forward to your videos and know I will enjoy them on many levels! Keep up the great work!
Not sure what you mean by 'popping' sounds dude. But the bangs you hear before it lands are sonic booms. The only sounds I could generally hear after shuttle landings were the orbiter's auxiliary power units.
Yeah I always thought they were the APU's. In a night landing you could sometimes see flames coming out of the exhausts underneath the tail. But I'm no expert on the Shuttle. My strength is Apollo.
I am an hydroelectric engeneer and an enormous fan of rockets. And thusly, for a men like me, that whistle is as satisfying as mindblowing, if I think at the crazy revs these Gemini-Titan turbines were used to spin before the ignition in order to produce such a noise!! ❤💪🏻✨️
Found this while searching for Hot Staging, but I have wondered what that sound was for decades... just didn't know how to to describe it... I thought it was more of a Fwoop than a Bwoop... but Thank You.
Thanks Amy. The Lance missile I worked with in the US Army also used a hypergolic fuel system. We used unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine ( UDMH ) as our fuel and inhibited red fuming nitric acid ( IRFNA ) as our oxidizer. We did not make any BWOOP noise when we launched haha. we used something called a SPGG ( pronounced speegee ) , which was a Solid Propellant Gas Generator. After the Safe/Arm switch was thrown and then the Safe/Fire switch ignited the SPGG which created great presure forcing the fuel and oxidizer to meet in the engine. And Boom.....combustion. Actually it was really 2 engines. We had one engine inside another engine. The main engine was the booster engine which burned was more powerful and got the missile off the ground and going mach 3 before it cleared the launcher. Then after the booster cut itself off the sustainer engine at the core of the booster would continue as long as the monitor programmer had programmed it to in order to reach the target. No, we didn't have a BWOOP at launch but she sure did give a mighty ROARRRRRRR.
First of all, thank you for your clear, concise, and well docuented videos. It is an absolute pleasure to continuously learn about space and the technology to reach it. Second, I'm french, so I wonder, is there any plans for a bit slower rate of speech (if it is sayable) in your future videos ? :) Anyways, thanks again and I sure will continue to follow you anyways.
The Cape engineers called it "the Titan screech." As a kid, watching each launch on black and white TV, this exuberant whoop was unmistakable -- and somehow appropriate for the hypergolic engine start of a big, bruising ICBM designed to carry thermonuclear warheads. My friends and I would try to imitate it. Also interesting was that some of the Gemini launches took place exactly on the hour... meaning the Titan screech would morph into a loud "BEEP" tone from the local TV station at liftoff. Beyond cool, Ms. Amy !
+Amy Shira Teitel (Vintage Space) It's one reason they finally went with solid fuel ICBMs, even hypergolics have to many moving parts that can fail. Still hard to beleive that the nation's deterrent once hinged on the Atlas. "Yes, Mr Soviet President? Can you give us at least half an hour warning before you launch an attack?"
The hum she talks about was the APU turbines that were used to jam fuel and oxidizer into the combustion chamber. I can tell you a little known story about this APU. I was an Electrical Engineer in the Titan II from 69 to 73. Around 73 the AF sent one of our rockets to Vandenberg Air Force Base for a test launch. But the APU's turbo exploded in the silo. What happened was that a train crossed the rocket's trajectory and the commander selected an abort during a critical point in the launch sequence. Now, there are two pre-valves that held the oxidizer and fuel from passing into the turbines of the APU that she is talking about. There are two relays involved with the pre-valves (1) a motor driven relay actually opening the pre-valve and (2) a relay that sends the signal to the launch console saying that the pre-valves were open. The two relays were expected to operate simultaneously. But there is a very short window where they are not because the relay that opened the pre-valves was motor driven and the one that sent the "ok" signal was not. When the abort was given the pre-valves were not opened because the motor driven relay could stop right in its tracks but the relay that sent the signal to say they were open continued to close. When the launch was continued the start cartridge that she is talking about fired and the turbo (without fule/ox) spun up to many-many times it's design speed and exploded.
Hey just discovered your videos and think they're great and very informative. Never even noticed that noise before on the Titan II launches. I have always wondered about Gemini's docking system with the Agena? The Apollo docking mechanism is pretty well documented out there but as far as I know the Gemini had no probe body?
Something that I always noticed about Titan Gemini launches. Especially on the Gemini launch where they had the engine cutoff, you hear that sound or something like it twice after shutdown (clearly not the same reason for the sound, probably just a tank dumping pressure).
Early Falcon 9s using Merlin 1C engines also apparently made a sound like this on main engine startup. It's quite audible in the Flight 2 webcast. Apparently the V1.1 and later Falcons no longer make this sound, probably because of a redesigned startup procedure for the Merlin 1D.
I was a Titan II engineer. I noticed a trivial mistake. The start cartridge is like a shotgun shell. It explodes to create the gas that causes the turbine to start spinning. The sound you hear is the turbine spinning up. That starts the APU (using the hypergolic combustion) which pumps the fuel and oxidizer into the combustion chamber. The APU is like a small rocket engine and, if you can find a high quality video or picture, you can see the exhaust from the APU as the rocket rises.
Actually, it deflagrates (burns); it does not explode (which is detonation).
Thats not correct. An explosion is generally defined as a rapid expansion in volume of any kind.
If the expansion is supersonic its regarded as a detonation,
if its subsonic then its deflagration.
That makes sense, it sounded more like a mechanical cranking, i.e. the turbine starting, than an electronic "bloop".
Geez how old are you
I like Amy's explanation better even though yours might be correct. She looks so cute making the rocket noise.
The Titan II "bwoop" is one of my favorite sounds ever.
We need a Titan II bwoop compilation
Me too
It is the Titan's way of saying "It's showtime!"
@@navelriver 🤘
Because that is the sound a happy rocket makes! :)
Or a turbo on a internal combustion engine
*"BWOOP, LET'S GO!"*
Happy rocket!!!! I actually giggled when I read this!!
At my age, I sound like that when I wake up too.
lol!
Lol! It does sound like a kid whining about something they don't want to do.
As a historic plane nut, I immediately recognised the cartridge sound from watching Canberra bombers in both the US and UK types start-up. They still use cartridges, but have much smaller and lighter turbines, so they have a much higher noise.
For like two and a half years my text notification sound was your “bwooooop!” noise. 😆
I worked for Aerojet for many years and had the opportunity to sit 700 feet from a Titan first stage at the test stand in Sacramento and when the engine fired we heard a big bang then the engine rumbled to life a few seconds later. It was amazing to experience it in person and in proximity to the engine. I saw many tests over the years there at the Sacto plant and trust me, nothing compares to a big engine or motor firing.
I am 67 years old and grew up watching and closely following each launch, I still retain that interest. I love your videos, and especially like the one explaining the sound that the Gemini-Titan II first stage engine turbo-pumps made. I always loved that sound! Keep up the good work!!
Please say "Bwwooopp" again!
I don't know how you pull it off; rapid, informative, straight to the point and still entertaining! Well done, thanks!
I had forgot all about that noise. When you made the noise I snickered, but as soon as you showed the clip I remembered. Thank you for the memories.
That sound is very similar to tractor trucks that use an air motor to start their engines. It sounds almost exactly like the air impact-wrenches you hear at a tire service center.
+Edward Cabaniss Right you are! That sound is the venting of the drive gases.
And I thought that noise was a rope starter all these years...
lol!
NipkowDisk Titan II for sale, lightly used. Cash only, fully vaccinated. Starts first pull every time.
Derek Pierce SOLD lol
LOL imagine being that guy.
LMAO!
I watched every manned Gemini launch as a kid, and remember hearing that sound several times. I always thought it was the sound of air being pushed through and out of the tower exhaust deflection tunnel (notice the blast exhaust goes to the left side in this video). I've thought this for 50 years and finally found out the correct answer!
The start cartridge sort of reminds me of the Coffman starters that were used to start large piston driven aircraft engines.
Didn't they use Kaufman starter in the film " Flight of the Phoenix. "?
Are they like a big shotgun shell?
Yup, they're Coffman starters though, OP is right on this one
Fastest way to get the engine spinnin' :D
I recently read that there were also smaller versions of the shells used to start up diesel engines in tractors such as the Field Marshall.
That's exactly what it is! It's a gas cartridge,fired to initially spin up the fuel pump turbine.
You should definitely demonstrate that sound a few more times!
I love how the space shuttle sounds when it's main engines fire. At first it's just a mess of a noise but a few seconds in it changes into a consistent more pleasing whooshing sound as the engines stabilize moments before the booster ignition.
I love your channel! I was a boy of 6 during the Gemini days. In fact, we lived in Houston! I can never look back to my early years without Gemini and Apollo showing very prominently. Sure miss those days! I never was a a sports fan. The Astronauts were my team! To a young boy, they were 9' tall and bullet proof.
I can't agree more with you about Pete Conrad. I'll bet he was a real cool guy to hang around with!
Never a dull moment around him, eh?
Love your videos, Amy. I am 62, and remember all of this, but it never ceases to amaze me what more I learn from watching your work. Awesome.
It's funny how massive a difference there is in the launch between the lightheartedness of the "bwoop" and the violence of the rest of the launch.
Love that sound. Also the LR-87 was one of the coolest engines of it's time. Could run on three different fuels with modification.
I served in the US Air Force at Patrick Air Force Base, just south of Cocoa Beach, from November 1963 until mid 1966. I was the driver and aide to the Commander, 6555th Aerospace Test Wing and as such I attended all of the Gemini-Titain launches at Cape Kenndy. I also got to meet most of the astronauts.
Was that the same fuel/oxidizer combo as the LM ascent stages?
Your "bwoop" impression was spot on, of course.
robyrobyroby12345 I'm not sure it was the same combination but yes, it was hypergols. I think the SPS engine on the CSM was as well. When I'm not in New Horizons mode I'll look into it and maybe do a video on what fuel/oxidizer combinations were used where. Not the sexiest topic but interesting!
robyrobyroby12345 Yes that was the same fuel. It was also used by the Descent Propulsion System of the LM and the Service Propulsion System of the CSM.
Love your 'bwoop' impression, AST, but on most videos it sounds to me more like a skidding automobile just before the crash!
It was said it be, but the Apollo 17 ascent module left no flame or smoke. Riddle me that?
@@marynollaig4124
It was operating in a vacuum.
I grew up during those space days! Never missed a launch on TV or a splashdown! So much fun!
I was in kindergarten when we watched the launch of Apollo 7 in class here in Houston, Tx. First manned Apollo flight, of course. I doubt if you were around then, but I sure can appreciate your knowledge of our space program history!
Some aircraft used starter cartridges to get their engine running when conventional starting equipment wasn't available.
Say my name...
Although this was very interesting, the best part of the video is your facial expression after imitating the sound.
"I'm not a rocket scientist, but I talk about it on UA-cam." That reminds me of an old pain reliever ad. :) BTW, excellent sound effect. :D
Nice sound effects! Very nice job explaining how hypergolic fueled rockets work.
I love your videos. Great job explaining this. Hope you start posting more videos soon.
Great to know what that sound was. I remember hearing that when I watched the Gemini-Titan launches as a kid. A great memory!
You explained it well. I recall hearing that odd sound in several Gemini Titan launch videos and though I was a Titan troop in the military (1980-83), I never got to witness a Titan II launch and here that noise live. I recall the start carts as we used to call them. But I was mainly electronics and guidance (E-lab) and didn't work on propulsion systems.
As a kid, I followed many of the launches and missions of NASA, from the early Mercuries to the Apollos. Nostalgic to think how much was accomplished and achieved in such a short time. Great video.
You did a great job explaining the starting sequence on the Titan 2. Thanks!
My new favorite YT channel!!!!!
Nope, you did a wonderful bwoop! I had never heard it before until you did one yourself. Now I'm going to listen for it every time.
Thanks for the videos. I am glad that I found them. I grew up watching all of these space adventures. I did a quick search of your videos and did not see one about how Gordon Cooper lost all of his instruments while in orbit and had only his watch and manual control to bring him down safely. Could you research that flight and do a video?
Great channel!!! So cool to find another vintage space geek like myself.
All those years ago watching Gemini launches and never asked why the noise. Thanks, Amy!
It wasn't the start cartridge but mainly the turbo pumps winding up to speed which made the noise. I heard plenty of them on Titan IIIB launches at Vandenberg. In real life it sounded like a jet engine starting up super fast. BTW the start cartridge was like a small solid fuel rocket.
I've always wondered what that sound was! Thanks for telling us!
I love all your videos. I always learn something new.
A question I never even thought to ask, thank you and thumbs up on the video.
Perfectly explained, and now I can't miss it!
This is one I have actually wondered about. Thank you!
bit late to the party for this one, but thanks for the video Amy.
I've watched a lot of old launch videos over the years and wondered exactly what that obnoxious noise was.
I used to have an old beat up chevy that made exactly the same noise when i turned the motor over. thought it was a slipping belt but now i know it was the start cartridge.
You did fine. I already knew about the reason for the sound and your explanation was excellent. An onboard start cart.
I did knew about cartridges for jet engines startup, but i've never think of them for starting a turbopump and making this funny noise. hahahaha
Thank you, for another excellent video, Amy!
Great explanation! I've watched nearly every watch video from Mercury through Apollo (several times) and never noticed this sound on Gemini. And now, thanks to this video, I can't help but notice it. Thank you for unclogging my ears, lol.
Starter cartridges have been used in aviation for many years. Watch a typical 50s jet such as a Canberra (or its American version, the Martin B-57) start up and you'll see and hear the cartridges light up. They produce a lot of thick black smoke although in a rocket launch the smoke would be overwhelmed by the much thicker rocket exhaust.
I always subconsciously noticed that Titan II missile ignition sound, but somehow attributed it to being the result of relatively primitive rocket engine technology. Another great informative video from Amy!
Nice job Amy!
Your videos are excellent!
Amy, I have two comments. The first one is simple....I am so glad that you make these videos, you are pleasant to listen to, you explain things in a form that non-engineers can follow and you always seem to be having fun. My second comment is a bit irrelevant but here goes...I think you are cute as a doll. As a 50 year old man, having grown up entirely in the "Space Age", the topic can get really dry and technical. You brighten up the topic with a lovely smile, a sweet personality and a very attractive appearance. I can always look forward to your videos and know I will enjoy them on many levels! Keep up the great work!
Love the giggle after describing and making the "bwoop" sound.
Great stuff: not enough info around on this fascinating subject or the brilliant people involved except for some Appollo and shuttle. Keep it up.
Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense. The sound is almost identical to that made by a diesel engine equipped with compressed-air start.
Bwoop! I think that was pretty good! Do you do any other impressions? Lol! Great video Amy!
mvglackin Just a lot of impressions of my cat chirping. He's a good little chirper!
You did nail it! Can't wait till you do the the sound of Gemini 6A shutting down too! You'll have to put the two together.
Not sure what you mean by 'popping' sounds dude. But the bangs you hear before it lands are sonic booms. The only sounds I could generally hear after shuttle landings were the orbiter's auxiliary power units.
Yeah I always thought they were the APU's. In a night landing you could sometimes see flames coming out of the exhausts underneath the tail. But I'm no expert on the Shuttle. My strength is Apollo.
It scared the crap out of me first time I saw it during a night landing because I thought the orbiter was on fire. But it's normal.
You explained it superbly !
Great video, thanks for the explanation.
I am an hydroelectric engeneer and an enormous fan of rockets. And thusly, for a men like me, that whistle is as satisfying as mindblowing, if I think at the crazy revs these Gemini-Titan turbines were used to spin before the ignition in order to produce such a noise!! ❤💪🏻✨️
This is the kind of spaceflight trivia I love to learn about!
1:44 Bwoop....best sound ever. I need a t shirt made that just says Bwoop on it. Favorite episode of Vintage Space.
just found about your channel. Love what your doing ! Thx!
Found this while searching for Hot Staging, but I have wondered what that sound was for decades... just didn't know how to to describe it... I thought it was more of a Fwoop than a Bwoop... but Thank You.
I thought you explained it very well and very precisely. Made perfect sense to me and I am FAR from a rocket scientist. Well done Amy!
I really enjoy your space site thanks for all info for 2017 I wish you a happy Christmas and onwards to the new year,Bill from Ireland.
Very clear. I have wondered about that since I was a child. Thank you.
Thanks Amy. The Lance missile I worked with in the US Army also used a hypergolic fuel system.
We used unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine ( UDMH ) as our fuel and inhibited red fuming nitric acid ( IRFNA )
as our oxidizer.
We did not make any BWOOP noise when we launched haha.
we used something called a SPGG ( pronounced speegee ) , which was a Solid Propellant Gas Generator.
After the Safe/Arm switch was thrown and then the Safe/Fire switch ignited the SPGG which created great presure
forcing the fuel and oxidizer to meet in the engine. And Boom.....combustion.
Actually it was really 2 engines. We had one engine inside another engine.
The main engine was the booster engine which burned was more powerful and got the missile off the ground and going mach 3
before it cleared the launcher. Then after the booster cut itself off the sustainer engine at the core of the booster would continue as long as the monitor programmer had programmed it to in order to reach the target.
No, we didn't have a BWOOP at launch but she sure did give a mighty ROARRRRRRR.
Please!!!! show me the out takes and extras to this video! I know it exists. You doubled over laughing after you made that sound!! Admit it!
Great explanation. Thanks.
I'm summarize:
It's a turbopump. XD
It's actually the starter for the turbopump, which was basically a little solid rocket that produced pressurized gas to start the turbopump spinning.
That is much better than a turbotrump!
idontcare80 the harmonic is the rotation of the turbopump.
Good job explaining!
I always just figured they turned the key while the engine was already running. My Buick makes that sound when I do it.
First of all, thank you for your clear, concise, and well docuented videos. It is an absolute pleasure to continuously learn about space and the technology to reach it.
Second, I'm french, so I wonder, is there any plans for a bit slower rate of speech (if it is sayable) in your future videos ? :)
Anyways, thanks again and I sure will continue to follow you anyways.
Thank You for this video presentation. I did not know what caused that sound. It made a cool sound ! Thank you again.
ALWAYS happy to be enlightened by Amy Shira Teitel !
The Cape engineers called it "the Titan screech." As a kid, watching each launch on black and white TV, this exuberant whoop was unmistakable -- and somehow appropriate for the hypergolic engine start of a big, bruising ICBM designed to carry thermonuclear warheads. My friends and I would try to imitate it. Also interesting was that some of the Gemini launches took place exactly on the hour... meaning the Titan screech would morph into a loud "BEEP" tone from the local TV station at liftoff. Beyond cool, Ms. Amy !
+Russell S I love "the Titan screech!" I wonder what it would have sounded like in a missile silo... Hmm.
+Amy Shira Teitel (Vintage Space) It's one reason they finally went with solid fuel ICBMs, even hypergolics have to many moving parts that can fail. Still hard to beleive that the nation's deterrent once hinged on the Atlas. "Yes, Mr Soviet President? Can you give us at least half an hour warning before you launch an attack?"
+Amy Shira Teitel (Vintage Space) The sound of imminent total annihilation. The Whoop of Death, if you will.
Love how the ignition on a Titan is instantaneous. There's a much longer delay on non-hypergolic fueled engine startups
The hum she talks about was the APU turbines that were used to jam fuel and oxidizer into the combustion chamber. I can tell you a little known story about this APU. I was an Electrical Engineer in the Titan II from 69 to 73. Around 73 the AF sent one of our rockets to Vandenberg Air Force Base for a test launch. But the APU's turbo exploded in the silo. What happened was that a train crossed the rocket's trajectory and the commander selected an abort during a critical point in the launch sequence. Now, there are two pre-valves that held the oxidizer and fuel from passing into the turbines of the APU that she is talking about. There are two relays involved with the pre-valves (1) a motor driven relay actually opening the pre-valve and (2) a relay that sends the signal to the launch console saying that the pre-valves were open. The two relays were expected to operate simultaneously. But there is a very short window where they are not because the relay that opened the pre-valves was motor driven and the one that sent the "ok" signal was not. When the abort was given the pre-valves were not opened because the motor driven relay could stop right in its tracks but the relay that sent the signal to say they were open continued to close. When the launch was continued the start cartridge that she is talking about fired and the turbo (without fule/ox) spun up to many-many times it's design speed and exploded.
That was an excellent impression!
Thank you for the explanation I appreciate it
Ok first of all that's one of the coolest rocket sounds I've ever heard. Sounds like a Star Wars turbolaser.
Secondly, thanks.
Memories! so many memories. Titan 1 & 2 Engine specialist 1962-1968
Love your videos thanls for doing them.
Love your content!
You did great!
Thanks.
Great explanation.
I like your "Glen" shirt in this video. John called me at my home when he was a Senator. It was nice hearing from him.
Hey just discovered your videos and think they're great and very informative. Never even noticed that noise before on the Titan II launches.
I have always wondered about Gemini's docking system with the Agena? The Apollo docking mechanism is pretty well documented out there but as far as I know the Gemini had no probe body?
Amy just showed she has yet another potential career as a sound effects voice artist! A very talented lady indeed.
Something that I always noticed about Titan Gemini launches. Especially on the Gemini launch where they had the engine cutoff, you hear that sound or something like it twice after shutdown (clearly not the same reason for the sound, probably just a tank dumping pressure).
First watch on one of you videos, I subscribed. You should feel special. Great explanation on something interesting.
Cool video. Thx Amy.
Great job!
Good stuff!! Thanks.
With some background in aerospace & physics, I say darn good explanation in 2.5 minutes! Keep 'em coming…balls 8!
Early Falcon 9s using Merlin 1C engines also apparently made a sound like this on main engine startup. It's quite audible in the Flight 2 webcast. Apparently the V1.1 and later Falcons no longer make this sound, probably because of a redesigned startup procedure for the Merlin 1D.
My name is Gemini , let me sing you the song of my people... BWOOOOP
That bwoooop sound is up there with the Thermite rail track welding sound in my top sound list.
Great job