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How do jetpacks work? And why don't we all have them? - Richard Browning

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TEDEd Animation

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In 1961, Yuri Gagarin piloted a spacecraft in humanity’s first manned space flight. A week later, Bell Aerosystems debuted a gas-powered rocket pack that could fly 35 meters in 13 seconds. Unfortunately, engineers knew this short flight was all the rocket pack could muster. So why was a massive spacecraft easier to send flying than a single pilot? Richard Browning investigates.

What made engines unfeasible and inefficient for jet-packs in the 20th century?

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Richard Browning, Debbie Browning
  • Director Mitch Hearn, Lisa Vertudaches
  • Narrator Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Storyboard Artist Mitch Hearn
  • Animator Mitch Hearn, Lisa Vertudaches
  • Compositor Mitch Hearn
  • Art Director Mitch Hearn, Lisa Vertudaches
  • Music Cem Misirlioglu
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam

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