WEBVTT FILE

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In the previous episode, we learned that
to find planets that can support life,

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we have to understand
the stars that host them –

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especially the ultraviolet light
those stars emit.

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But to see that ultraviolet light,
we have to get above our own atmosphere.

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And the fastest way to do
that is to launch a rocket.

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We're here in Australia

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and we're going to launch some rockets.

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We're following two NASA rocket missions
as they try to understand

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how stars make the planets
around them suitable for life.

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I'm Miles Hatfield, and in this episode

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we're going to see what it takes
to get a sounding rocket into space.

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If you ask me,
sounding rockets are NASA's true MVPs.

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Their name comes from the nautical term
“to sound,” meaning to measure.

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No astronauts here –

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these rockets specialize in carrying
scientific instruments.

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They take short flights, spending
just a few minutes in space before falling

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back to the ground for recovery.

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Scientists can
then relaunch the same instruments again,

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and again, and again,
adapting them to new purposes.

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It makes sounding rocket missions
far less expensive than other alternatives –

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and a lot faster to develop too.
Many scientific “firsts”

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are achieved with sounding rockets
because of their quick turnaround time.

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In fact, the two missions we’re following,
SISTINE and DEUCE,

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are breaking their own scientific ground:

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The ultraviolet light they measure
could reveal whether Sun-like stars

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throughout our galaxy are capable
of supporting habitable planets.

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To get their instruments to space,
they're relying on the experts from NASA's

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Wallops Flight Facility,
who operate over 20 sounding

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rocket launches each year from locations
all around the world.

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Still, no matter how many launches
you have under your belt,

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there's one wildcard
that can undo even the best laid plans.

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Roughly an hour and 15 minutes

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before launch,
we start doing balloons every 15 minutes

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and that's giving us those low level
winds.

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The closer we are to the surface,
the more sensitive

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the rocket is to the impact of the winds.

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For NASA's range and launcher teams,
getting into space is only half

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the battle.

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These low-level winds will also affect
where the rocket lands.

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It's a suborbital rocket,

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so we go up and we come down.

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I'm required to keep the rocket
within the hazard area because that's

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what we alert the public to stay out of
and we clear it

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and that's kind of the box that we have
to play in.

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You know, we're trying that aim a point
this downrange this way,

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we may have the point over here

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so that when the winds go up,
it'll come up and impact there.

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Using computer simulations,
the launch team has figured out

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exactly how much wind the rocket can take
without risking being blown off course.

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As launch approaches,
Brittany keeps a close eye on the real-time

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wind measurements to be sure
they stay within an acceptable range.

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But it gets really exciting
in the final 2 minutes. You will see me and

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Mike with our eyes glued to that monitor
and my finger on the button for my comms.

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You know,
we're the ultimate safety authority –

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it's our judgment call
if the winds are trending out

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or if that was just a random data
point and we can proceed.

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Once the rocket is in the air,

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a whole slew of internal systems
need to kick into high gear.

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I caught up with the SISTINE science team
as they were running the final sequence

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tests, simulating everything
that will happen during the flight.

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We simulate starting about 10 minutes
before launch itself,

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and we run through all of the steps
you would, exactly as you would.

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And the countdown clock has started.

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90 seconds here. we're about to hit

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T -90, is my favorite part on launch night.

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Which is where they're polling
for the final “GO.”

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Chk chk, go. Da da da, go.”

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Where they're running
through all the major subsystems

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and making sure that

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everything looks correct now,
because this is the last chance to say

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that there's a problem before we’re
just assuming we're rolling into launch.

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5. 4. 3. 2. 1

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First stage would have ignited first –

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and it's already burned out by six seconds.

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And then our Black Brant starts,
which is the second stage.

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As you're launching,
you want to be spun up,

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but then you want to stop that spin
once you're observing.

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What would happen
if you guys didn't stop spinning?

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Um, it would probably be catastrophic.

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Let's hope that doesn't happen!

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Then we prepare
for the shutter door to open.
New Caption

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Cool. There it is!

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So, the shutter door opens.

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Towards the center there,
this black camera is our star tracker.

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And so that right now is figuring out
where it is in the sky,

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and then driving us over
towards our target.

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There you can see our big primary mirror.

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And then this kind of “X” structure you see
up front is holding our secondary mirrors,

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so the second optic in our telescope.

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And now, we're hopefully celebrating

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or talking about whatever went wrong
during the flight at the same time.

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Once the payload has been fully tested
and confirmed ready for flight,

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they bring it down from the payload
assembly building to the launch rail,

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where it will be connected to the motors.

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This is the last place

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this experiment will sit on land
before it launches into space.

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As night falls over the Arnhem Space
Center,

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it's time to hope for good weather.

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If all goes well, we'll soon
be high above it.

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Next time:

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The thing you've all been waiting for.

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3. 2. blastoff.

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It's going to get pretty loud.