The show is supposed to be written by writers who have done some research into space and spacecraft, but this episode doesn't show much of that.
Spoiler alert, the episode involves a thruster valve getting stuck open on a satellite that spins to provide artificial gravity. The first issue I have with this is called "single failure criteria". Nothing that goes into space is designed with a single point of failure that could endanger the craft or the people in it; this preferably something you can do from the control room. You could argue that the manual valve they finally saved the satellite with would meet that criteria, and you would be wrong. To satisfy the criteria, it would need to be a second method of isolating the fuel line that would not involve a space walk, and it certainly would not be placed at the very outside of the station ring where the spinning force (the artificial gravity) is the greatest.
If the artificial gravity inside the satellite ring was actually at 3.96g, then on the outside of the ring (where the valve was) would likely be closing in on 5g's (five times Earth gravity). The young astronaut who saved everyone would be teetering on the edge of passing out, and he certainly wouldn't have been able to life a wrench to close the valve.
The second problem I have with the plot resolution is, in fact, the valve he was turning. He was turning it counter clockwise. In other words, he was opening the valve, not closing it.
It is truly amazing how many writers, actors, and directors get that one backwards, and this episode is no exception.
The third issue I have is the artificial gravity increase. The episode had it up to nearly 2g's (twice Earth gravity) before people started to notice. A 200 pound man would feel like 220 pounds at 1.1g. At 2g's, he'd feel like he was 400 pounds. Trust me, every single person would have noticed the force change LONG before even 1.5g.
The fourth issue I have with it is, "What reduced the speed of the spin?" The young astronaut shut off the fuel flow, and the artificial gravity immediately started lowering. They were in space. Nothing is going to slow down the spin unless a counter thrust was introduced; (which could have been introduced to counter the spin the moment the malfunction was noticed). But no, in the episode, the artificial gravity started lowering the moment the thruster was turned off, violating physics and destroying my trust in the show writers and directors.
Spoiler alert, the episode involves a thruster valve getting stuck open on a satellite that spins to provide artificial gravity. The first issue I have with this is called "single failure criteria". Nothing that goes into space is designed with a single point of failure that could endanger the craft or the people in it; this preferably something you can do from the control room. You could argue that the manual valve they finally saved the satellite with would meet that criteria, and you would be wrong. To satisfy the criteria, it would need to be a second method of isolating the fuel line that would not involve a space walk, and it certainly would not be placed at the very outside of the station ring where the spinning force (the artificial gravity) is the greatest.
If the artificial gravity inside the satellite ring was actually at 3.96g, then on the outside of the ring (where the valve was) would likely be closing in on 5g's (five times Earth gravity). The young astronaut who saved everyone would be teetering on the edge of passing out, and he certainly wouldn't have been able to life a wrench to close the valve.
The second problem I have with the plot resolution is, in fact, the valve he was turning. He was turning it counter clockwise. In other words, he was opening the valve, not closing it.
It is truly amazing how many writers, actors, and directors get that one backwards, and this episode is no exception.
The third issue I have is the artificial gravity increase. The episode had it up to nearly 2g's (twice Earth gravity) before people started to notice. A 200 pound man would feel like 220 pounds at 1.1g. At 2g's, he'd feel like he was 400 pounds. Trust me, every single person would have noticed the force change LONG before even 1.5g.
The fourth issue I have with it is, "What reduced the speed of the spin?" The young astronaut shut off the fuel flow, and the artificial gravity immediately started lowering. They were in space. Nothing is going to slow down the spin unless a counter thrust was introduced; (which could have been introduced to counter the spin the moment the malfunction was noticed). But no, in the episode, the artificial gravity started lowering the moment the thruster was turned off, violating physics and destroying my trust in the show writers and directors.
Tell Your Friends