This week on the channel +1.9M views this week

Blackbird questions and rocket cars fill Scott Manley's vacation week

Two uploads pair NASA's old SR-71 with a Tesla demonstration that prompted a detour from his time off.

Channel:

Scott Manley Story of October 20, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.

Let's Talk About Tesla's Rocket Car.... Even Though I'm Supposed to be On Vacation

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

3:32Underbody fans and dynamic skirts create suction to increase the car's cornering grip.
4:48The propulsion system uses cold gas thrusters supplied by a high-pressure composite tank.
8:05Rapid cooling and limited stored energy constrain how long the thrusters can operate.
9:47Thrusters in different positions provide lift, forward acceleration and control around three axes.
12:40Manley examines the flip's physics and whether the short jump qualifies as controlled flight.

Scott Manley posted two videos between NASA's old Blackbird and Tesla's rocket-powered Roadster, giving the week a distinctly unconventional transportation theme. The vacation survived, though not entirely uninterrupted.

"What Is NASA Doing With Its Old Blackbird?" drew nearly half a million views. The SR-71 question was followed by "Let's Talk About Tesla's Rocket Car.... Even Though I'm Supposed to be On Vacation," which became the week's most-watched new upload, reaching roughly 635,000 views.

The Tesla discussion has a lighter entry point than its engineering subject might suggest: Manley wishes the demonstration had borrowed the black paint and theme music from Knight Rider. Viewers carry that reference into the comments, imagining KITT rationing its jumps to suit the recharge time. Others reach for a reference closer to this channel's roots, Kerbal Space Program and its exuberantly improbable vehicles.

The Roadster video is also drawing the most views per day among his uploads, followed by the Blackbird installment. Just behind those, "How To Start A Nuclear Chain Reaction" continues finding viewers with its explanation of the precisely timed neutrons needed to initiate fission.

Across the channel, daily viewing is more than twice its usual level, while the subscriber count is unchanged over the week. Weekly views are close to BBC Earth Science's, although the subjects could hardly be more Manley: an old reconnaissance aircraft, nuclear physics and a car that invites an orbital-mechanics teacher to interrupt his vacation.

Published on Trari

Where next?

Also in Science and experimentsVideo taking off 26x its usual first dayA giant space magnet raises the possibility of antimatter starsBBC Earth Science follows Sam Ting's detector from Endeavour's final mission to signals that could point toward something unexpected in the cosmos.Channel: BBC Earth Science · Story of October 24, 2026

A different discovery todayVideo people are talking about 11x its usual commentsZelenskyy tells Steven Bartlett why he needed "ammunition, not a ride"In a nearly two-hour conversation, Ukraine's president moves from sleepless nights and grieving parents to Bucha, Paddington Bear and the morning the invasion …Channel: The Diary Of A CEO · Story of October 24, 2026

What viewers say

The hours to recharge is not an issue. KITT only needed this sort of thing maybe once per episode.
@brianhaygood183See it on YouTube
They're saying it's the most Kerbal vehicle ever built by non-Kerbals

(For better or for worse)
@DesolateHopeRyanSee it on YouTube
Enjoy your vacation, Scott!
@DawnofMeatSee it on YouTube

4 more comments

We did it guys. We have a gas-powered Tesla
@teutonicknightmareSee it on YouTube
"Are you certain, Michael? I have already used the jump once in this episode."
@K-o-RSee it on YouTube
This is so great! My city just replaced their HOV lanes with Hot Wheel tracks!!! Super excited, now
@unclelurk1556See it on YouTube
I'm glad we have someone like you that can dissect whats going on here and give us stats. Thank you for sharing your insight with this video.
@burkshmSee it on YouTube