WEBVTT

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[dramatic percussion music]

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>> HEY, THERE.
WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."

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I'M YOUR HOST, JUSTIN TULLY.

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YOU EVER WONDER
HOW ASTRONAUTS TRAIN

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FOR WORKING
IN REDUCED GRAVITY?

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WELL, THERE'S ACTUALLY
A WHOLE BUNCH

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OF DIFFERENT TRAINING TECHNIQUES
AND FACILITIES FOR THEM.

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YOU'VE GOT STUFF
LIKE VIRTUAL REALITY TRAINERS,

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MOCK-UPS, SIMULATORS.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PHYSICAL
ASPECT OF BEING IN SPACE--

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THE REDUCED GRAVITY,
THE FLOATING AROUND,

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AND ALL THAT?

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YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD
ABOUT THE VOMIT COMET,

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OFFICIALLY THE KC-135,

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A PLANE THAT FLIES
IN PARABOLAS,

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CAUSING THE FEELING
OF WEIGHTLESSNESS

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DURING THE FREE-FALL SEGMENTS
OF THE PARABOLAS.

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I MEAN, THEY ACTUALLY
USED THAT PLANE

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TO FILM SOME OF THE SCENES IN
RON HOWARD'S MOVIE "APOLLO 13."

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AND THIS KIND OF TRAINING

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IS SO IMPORTANT
FOR OUR REAL ASTRONAUTS

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THAT A NEWER VERSION
OF THE WEIGHTLESS WONDER,

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THE C9-B,
IS USED BY NASA TODAY.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT SOMETHING
A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE GROUND?

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DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT
THE NEUTRAL BUOYANCY LABORATORY

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IN HOUSTON, TEXAS?

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WHAT IS IT?
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

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WELL, IT'S BASICALLY
A REALLY, REALLY BIG POOL.

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IT'S ABOUT 61 METERS LONG,
31 METERS WIDE,

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AND ROUGHLY 12 METERS DEEP.

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THAT'S EVEN BIGGER
THAN AN OLYMPIC-SIZED POOL

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AND MUCH DEEPER.

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I SAID IT WAS REALLY BIG.

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IT HOLDS ABOUT
23.5 MILLION LITERS OF WATER.

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THAT'S ALMOST
6.2 MILLION GALLONS.

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IT'S SO BIG, IT ALSO HOLDS
FULL-SIZE MOCK-UPS

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OF SPACE STATION MODULES.

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SO ASTRONAUTS CAN ACTUALLY
SUIT UP, DIVE IN,

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AND TRAIN
FOR THEIR SPACEWALKS.

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BUT IT'S NOT QUITE
THAT SIMPLE.

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IF YOU WERE TO DIVE INTO A POOL
WITH A HEAVY SPACE SUIT ON,

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YOU'D PROBABLY SINK, RIGHT?

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NOT SO WEIGHTLESS.

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THAT'S WHERE THE NEUTRAL
BUOYANCY COMES INTO PLAY.

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NEUTRAL BUOYANCY IS A CONDITION
IN WHICH AN OBJECT'S MASS

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IS EQUAL TO THE MASS
IT DISPLACES

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IN A SURROUNDING MEDIUM.

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IN SIMPLE WORDS,
A NEUTRALLY BUOYANT OBJECT

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NEITHER FLOATS NOR SINKS.

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TO MAKE AN OBJECT
NEUTRALLY BUOYANT,

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THE OBJECT'S MASS NEEDS TO BE
EQUAL TO THE MASS OF THE WATER.

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THE ASTRONAUTS ACCOMPLISH THIS

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WITH A COMBINATION OF WEIGHTS
AND FLOTATION DEVICES.

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ONCE NEUTRAL BUOYANCY
IS ACHIEVED,

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THE ASTRONAUT ESSENTIALLY
HOVERS IN THE WATER.

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BUT HERE'S THE THING.

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IN THE NEUTRAL BUOYANCY LAB,

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THE ASTRONAUTS
STILL FEEL THEIR OWN WEIGHT

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AS GRAVITY TUGS ON THEM,

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SO IT'S NOT EXACTLY THE SAME
AS BEING WEIGHTLESS IN SPACE,

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BUT IT DOES ALLOW
THE ASTRONAUTS TO PRACTICE

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MOVING HEAVY OBJECTS
OR PERFORMING FINE-MOTOR TASKS

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WITH THOSE BULKY SUITS ON.

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NEUTRAL BUOYANCY
MAY NOT BE PERFECT,

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BUT IT IS THE CLOSEST THING
TO WEIGHTLESSNESS

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YOU CAN GET HERE ON EARTH.

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OF COURSE, THE ASTRONAUTS
IN THAT BIG POOL

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HAVE TO DEAL WITH ANOTHER
PROBLEM: WATER DRAG.

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EVEN IN NEUTRAL BUOYANCY,
THE DRAG OF MOVING WATER

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SLOWS DOWN
THE ASTRONAUTS' MOVEMENTS.

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DRAG IS A FORCE THAT OPPOSES
THE MOTION OF A SOLID OBJECT

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THROUGH EITHER LIQUID OR GAS.

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SO AN ASTRONAUT
MOVING HIS ARM THROUGH THE WATER

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ENCOUNTERS RESISTANCE
OF THE WATER DRAG.

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OR AN AIRPLANE
FLYING THROUGH THE AIR

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HAS TO DEAL
WITH THE DRAG FORCE OF THE AIR.

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OR EVEN
WHEN YOU'RE WALKING AROUND,

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THERE'S DRAG
RESISTING YOUR MOTION.

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NOW, GRANTED, YOU'RE NOT
GOING TO BE MOVING VERY FAST,

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AND NEITHER IS THE ASTRONAUT,

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BUT IN SPECIAL SITUATIONS
WHEN YOU'RE MOVING

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AT HIGHER VELOCITIES,
LIKE AN AIRPLANE OR A ROCKET,

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IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND
THE EFFECTS OF DRAG FORCES.

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HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

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WELL, NASA'S GOT THE ANSWER.

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THEY'RE CALLED WIND TUNNELS,

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AND THEY'RE USED TO CHECK
THE FLUID DYNAMICS OF OBJECTS.

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SOME ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO TEST
FULL-SIZE PLANES OR ROCKETS,

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BUT MOST DEAL
WITH SMALLER MODELS.

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ALL KINDS OF THINGS GET TESTED
IN NASA WIND TUNNELS,

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FROM AIRPLANES TO ROCKETS
TO EVEN NASCAR RACE CARS.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT A SWIMSUIT?

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YEAH, A SWIMSUIT.

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LIKE YOU USE IN A POOL?

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A POOL, LIKE WE WERE
TALKING ABOUT EARLIER

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WITH THE ASTRONAUT TESTING?

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YEAH, SEE, IT MIGHT SEEM
LIKE WE RAMBLE,

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BUT WE BRING IT BACK.

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IT ALL MAKES SENSE IN THE END.

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ANYWAY, YEAH, A SWIMSUIT.

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BECAUSE LET'S BE HONEST.

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FOR COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS,
DRAG IS A HUGE DEAL.

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IT'S WHY A LOT OF SWIMMERS
WEAR SWIM CAPS,

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SHAVE THEIR HEADS,
EVEN SHAVE THEIR BODIES.

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HAIR, EVEN A LITTLE BIT,
INCREASES DRAG.

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STUDIES INDICATE THAT
VISCOUS DRAG, OR SKIN FRICTION,

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IS ROUGHLY 1/3 OF THE TOTAL
RESTRAINING FORCE ON A SWIMMER.

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AND FOR THESE
COMPETITIVE SWIMMERS,

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WHO ARE WORKING HARD
TO PERFECT THEIR FORM

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AND IMPROVE
THEIR HYDRODYNAMICS--

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HYDRODYNAMICS, THAT'S LIKE
AERODYNAMICS BUT IN WATER--

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EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS.

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A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND
CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE

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BETWEEN A GOLD MEDAL
AND NOT PLACING AT ALL.

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AND THAT'S WHY
THE SPEEDO COMPANY DID TESTING

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ON THEIR LZR RACER SWIMSUIT
IN NASA'S WIND TUNNELS.

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THE RESULT?

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WELL, THE NUMBERS
KIND OF SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

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IN THE 2008 OLYMPICS,
94% OF THE RACES

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WERE WON BY COMPETITORS
WEARING THE LZR RACER SWIMSUIT.

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AND IN THOSE SAME 2008 GAMES,
OVER 60 WORLD RECORDS

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WERE BROKEN BY SWIMMERS
IN LZR RACER SUITS.

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THAT SEEMS PRETTY EFFECTIVE,
RIGHT?

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SO HOW DID THE SUIT COME ABOUT?

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WELL, THE FIRST STEP
WAS FINDING THE RIGHT MATERIAL.

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NASA RESEARCHERS, WORKING
IN COLLABORATION WITH SPEEDO,

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TESTED OVER 100 DIFFERENT
POTENTIAL MATERIALS

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FOR SWIMSUITS
IN WIND TUNNELS.

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THE MATERIALS WERE STRETCHED

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OVER A SMOOTH, FLAT
ALUMINUM PLATE,

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AND THE EDGES WERE TAPED DOWN.

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THIS WAS ALL DONE
SO THAT NOTHING WOULD INTERFERE

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WITH THE AIRFLOW
OVER THE FABRIC.

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EACH MATERIAL WAS TESTED

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AT A NUMBER
OF DIFFERENT WIND SPEEDS,

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WHICH, WITH THE HELP
OF SENSORS,

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ALLOWED RESEARCHERS
TO MEASURE DRAG

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ACROSS THE SURFACE
OF THE PLATE.

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IN THE END,
AFTER YEARS OF STUDY,

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ONE MATERIAL EMERGED.

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IT WAS CALLED LZR PULSE.

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THIS MATERIAL WAS IDEAL
BECAUSE, FOR ONE THING,

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IT IS VERY EFFICIENT
AT REDUCING DRAG.

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IT ALSO REPELS WATER
AND IS EXTREMELY LIGHTWEIGHT.

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BUT THE MATERIAL'S
NOT THE ONLY CONSIDERATION.

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YOU ALSO HAVE TO WORRY
ABOUT SEAMS,

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WHICH CAUSE DRAG AS WELL.

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BUT IT TURNS OUT
THAT THE SAME TECHNOLOGY

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THAT CAN BE USED
TO MAKE PERFECT SEAMS

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ON NASA'S NEW ORION SPACECRAFT

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CAN DO THE SAME THING
FOR SWIMSUITS.

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SPEEDO ULTRASONICALLY WELDED
THE SEAMS ON THE LZR RACER

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RATHER THAN USING
TRADITIONALLY SEWN AREAS.

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NEVER HEARD
OF ULTRASONIC WELDING BEFORE?

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I HADN'T EITHER.

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BASICALLY, HIGH-FREQUENCY
ULTRASONIC ACOUSTIC VIBRATIONS--

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SOUND WAVES WITH A FREQUENCY

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ABOVE THE CAPABILITIES
OF HUMANS TO HEAR THEM--

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ARE APPLIED
TO PIECES OF MATERIAL

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THAT ARE BEING HELD TOGETHER
UNDER PRESSURE.

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THIS CREATES
A SOLID-STATE WELD.

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THAT IS, THE CONNECTION
IS MADE JUST BY THE MATERIAL.

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THERE ARE NO
SOLDERING MATERIALS, ADHESIVES,

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NAILS, STITCHES,
NOTHING LIKE THAT.

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SO THE LZR RACER WAS THE FIRST
FULLY BONDED FULL-BODY SWIMSUIT

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WITH ULTRASONICALLY
WELDED SEAMS,

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AND THAT ALONE
REDUCED DRAG BY 6%.

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ALSO, THE ZIPPER FOR THE SUIT
WAS ULTRASONICALLY BONDED

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BUT HIDDEN INSIDE THE SUIT.

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THAT GENERATED 8% LESS DRAG
IN WIND TUNNEL TESTS

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THAN A STANDARD ZIPPER.

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SO ALL IN ALL,
THE LZR RACER SUIT

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REDUCED THE PASSIVE DRAG
OF THE FABRIC

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OVER THE PREVIOUS
SPEEDO FS-PRO SUIT BY ABOUT 24%.

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WHEN YOU'RE TALKING
HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND

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BETWEEN FIRST AND LAST,
IT'S A HUGE DEAL.

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THAT'S NASA FOR YOU:

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LEARNING FROM ITS RESEARCH,
APPLYING IT BACK HERE ON EARTH,

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HELPING US ALL OUT.

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WELL, THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

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UNTIL NEXT TIME,
I'M JUSTIN TULLY.

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THANKS FOR WATCHING
"NASA LAUNCHPAD."