Goddard Glossary: Sounding Rocket

Narration: Katy Mersmann

Transcript:

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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.