Incredible Hand-Drawn Animations Explain How Spacecraft Work

By Nancy Atkinson - February 29, 2016 at 4:57 PM UTC | Space Exploration
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Freelance animator and storyboard artist

Stanley VonMedvey

has started using his remarkable talents to create short videos to explain a pretty complex topic: how spacecraft work. He's made two so far and they are wonderfully concise, clear and easy to understand. Plus his hand-drawn animations are incredible.

Here's the first one that caught my eye, about the space shuttle and the concept of reusability:

VonMedvey describes himself as "completely obsessed with and fascinated by space exploration," and he wants to share what he's learned over the years about spaceflight.

He'd like the opportunity and resources to make more videos, and has started a

Patreon page

to help in this process. Right now, he creates the videos on his own (using the time-honored home-recording technique of draping a blanket over his head) in his home officee.

"I'd like to make a lot more videos," he writes on

Patreon

, "explaining things like Hohmman transfers and laser propulsion and the construction techniques of O'Neill cylinders. I want to make long form videos (2-3 minutes) that explain a general idea, and short form videos (30 seconds) that cover a single word, like "ballistics" or "reaction control".

The second video he's done covers expendable launch vehicles:

Enjoy these great videos and if you'd like to see more, consider supporting his work. See more of his drawings at

his website.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com