High Above Down Under | Episode 5: To Space (And Back)

Narration: Miles Hatfield

Transcript:

Kevin France: “You see that up there, just to the left of the Southern Cross? That’s Alpha Centauri. That’s what we’re after.”

Miles Hatfield: “Tonight, we’re headed for the stars!”

Our destination is the Alpha Centauri system, our closest stellar neighbors.

The goal? Capture a special range of UV light that could tell us whether stars like them throughout our galaxy could be home to a habitable planet.

We’re here in Australia and we’re going to launch some rockets.

We’re following two NASA rocket missions as they try to understand how stars make the planets around them suitable for life.

I’m Miles Hatfield, and in this episode, we’re headed to space – and back.

After years of planning and preparation, it’s launch night.

The payloads are tested and ready.

The rocket motors are poised for ignition.

The entire staff has rehearsed every step of the launch procedure.

But one thing wasn’t cooperating: the wind. For the last few days, it’s been unusually strong.

Maybe we should’ve brought a kite instead of a rocket.

Miles Hatfield: “Hello. Oh, there you are! What’s up?”

Kevin France: “So, I was just down chatting with the weather folks. And, uh, heading in the right direction, better than last night.

Not quite in the acceptable range.”

Brittany Empson: “Even the locals are saying this is very out of character for this time of year in this area.”

That’s Brittany – we met her in the last episode. As the range safety officer, it’s her job to make sure the rocket won’t be blown off course.

But at a brand-new launch range, nobody really knows for sure what’s going to happen.

Even historical data wasn’t of much help.

Brittany Empson: “Mike, our flight safety analyst, looked at 10 years’ worth of wind data. Every single scenario he ran we were in for our limits.”

Still, the countdown clock ticks on.

There’s lots to be done that doesn’t depend on the weather in the meantime.

But as the countdown clock gets to the final few minutes, these windy conditions mean it has a funny habit of… stopping.

Intercom: “T-minus 3 minutes and holding.”

Not to be too dramatic, but this really could ruin everything.

The launch window only lasts a few days. If the weather doesn’t cooperate in time, the whole team may have to head home without launching.

3 hours go by, with more starts and stops than I can count.

Everyone’s nerves are getting a little fried.

But then, finally, things started looking good.

Intercom: “This is C.M. polling for go status. Experiment G.S.E.?”

Response: “Go.”

Intercom: “P.I.?”

Response: “Go.”

Everyone’s watching the wind measurements – this could be it.

Intercom: “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero.”

Within 6 seconds, the rocket is already over a mile up.

A minute in, the rocket de-spins and the shutter door opens for its first view of space.

The onboard Star Tracker guides the telescope towards the target. The scientists manually fine-tune its pointing to center it into their telescope’s view.

It looks like a single star on the computer monitor.

But their powerful instruments should detect two sources of light.

That’s if everything is still working after launch. After all, we did just blast it into space with almost two tons of rocket fuel.

Kevin France: “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's the hotter star. That's the hotter star. That's the cooler star. Yes!”

They’ve done it.

As the telescope descends back to Earth, it’s time to celebrate.

Kevin France: “Wooo!”

SISTINE is a success. But the mission is only half complete.

A few days later, DEUCE is on the rail.

Luckily, the rough weather has passed.

And it looks like DEUCE might even launch on their very first try.

We’re down to the final few seconds!

Intercom: “3, 2, 1 …”

Oh, by the way, there’s some important history I totally forgot to mention!

The last time NASA launched sounding rockets from Australia was in 1995 – and DEUCE’s telescope was on that flight!

In fact, this is the telescope’s 16th time in space. DEUCE is a great example of how much bang for your buck you can get from sounding rocket missions.

OK, back to the launch.

Intercom: “1, 0.”

As Emily guides the telescope to the target, its detectors capture Alpha Centauri's extreme ultraviolet light.

As the shutter door closes, the team dives right into analyzing the data.

I mean, the rocket isn’t even on the ground yet!

Two launches, two successful missions. But it’s not over yet.

Next time: All that stuff we just shot into space? It landed somewhere in the Australian Outback – and now we have to go find it.

Guide: “Snake!”