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NAHow are sounding rockets made? 🚀
At Wallops, we not only assemble and launch sounding rockets, but we also *custom make* about 150 parts for each one!
Sounding rockets are uncrewed missions that exit the atmosphere, but do not reach an altitude where they enter orbit, returning back to Earth instead. This allows for short, affordable science snapshots beyond the atmosphere. They carry scientific instruments between 30 and 300 miles above Earth’s surface.
To take a sounding means to take a measurement. Instruments on board sounding rockets take measurements in the atmosphere and in space. Sounding rocket launches from Wallops date back to 1945, and they are still launched regularly today.
Video description:
0:00: Man holding a green circuit board. “Building a Sounding Rocket” is written across the middle.
0:01: Looking over the shoulder of a person at a desk, facing a computer with a model on screen.
0:02: Man operating a metal cutting machine.
0:03: Man pushing a metal cylinder on a cart
surrounded by other sounding rocket parts.
0:04: The NASA sounding rocket building is beige with a sounding rocket hanging over a large garage door and the NASA meatball above the sounding rocket.
0:06 Large warehouse with machines throughout.
0:08: Sounding rocket launching.
0:09: Man in safety glasses talks in large warehouse. Text: “Jim Ruhl, Manufacturing Operations Manager”
0:17: Model of sounding rocket on the left, text on the right: “A sounding rocket carries scientific instruments between 30 and 300 miles above Earth.”
0:21: Model of sounding rocket moves up and zooms out to graphic of space with lines at 30 and 300 miles. There’s a spacecraft graphic at the 300 mile mark. Text: “Around the region between Earth and space.”
0:25: Man at computer with sounding rocket model on screen. He is talking to the computer. Text: “Bob Jillard, Journeyman Machinist.”
0:27: Computer screen showing modeling program on the computer.
0:33: Metal cylinder being cut in a machine with water. Text with arrow pointing to the metal: “*This will be a nose cone.”
Video description continued in comments.
@nasagoddard
