A technician catches mismatched spacecraft connectors and teaches colleagues the check

A JPL technician stops two mismatched spacecraft connectors before they are joined. Her check is written down, and four colleagues learn it in two weeks.

A JPL technician is about to join two spacecraft connectors when she sees the pin pattern is wrong. Engineers confirm that one connector came from a different build and would have damaged the pins. Her check is then written down so that qualified colleagues can practice it under supervision.

In the film, four colleagues learn the check in two weeks, the corrected connector passes its retest ten days later, and a colleague catches a second mismatch on another unit three months later. Finding the problem before assembly takes ten days to fix. Finding it after assembly takes six weeks of rework and a second test campaign, and puts the delivery date at risk. The film ends at the Moon base, where hardware built this way is serviced by crews trained at the Space Academy.

Facts about this work

Stills