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Sounding rocket.

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Here at NASA, we're kind of known for
launching things like sounding rockets.

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Sounding rockets are smaller,

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lower-cost options for launching science
to the edge of space.

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Unlike larger rockets launching satellites
or people, which can be hundreds of feet

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tall, sounding
rockets are about 40 to 80 feet tall.

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Sounding rockets are also known
as suborbital rockets.

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They launch on a parabolic trajectory,
basically a big arch,

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reaching the top of Earth's atmosphere
before coming back down.

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Sounding rocket flights
last about 15 minutes.

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To break it down even further, “sounding”
literally means to take a measurement.

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Because the flights are so short

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and the rockets are often reusable,
sounding rockets offer a quick, low-cost

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way to take measurements of Earth's
atmosphere,

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the Sun, X-rays in the universe,
and so much more.

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At NASA,

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we've been launching sounding rockets
since 1958, basically our very beginning.

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NASA's Wallops Flight Facility oversees
our sounding rockets program.

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We've launched them at Wallops,
as well as around the world,

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from Australia to Alaska, giving everyone
from experienced researchers to students

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a chance to launch their science.