Sounding rocket.
Here at NASA, we're kind of known for launching things like sounding rockets.
Sounding rockets are smaller,
lower-cost options for launching science to the edge of space.
Unlike larger rockets launching satellites or people, which can be hundreds of feet
tall, sounding rockets are about 40 to 80 feet tall.
Sounding rockets are also known as suborbital rockets.
They launch on a parabolic trajectory, basically a big arch,
reaching the top of Earth's atmosphere before coming back down.
Sounding rocket flights last about 15 minutes.
To break it down even further, “sounding” literally means to take a measurement.
Because the flights are so short
and the rockets are often reusable, sounding rockets offer a quick, low-cost
way to take measurements of Earth's atmosphere,
the Sun, X-rays in the universe, and so much more.
At NASA,
we've been launching sounding rockets since 1958, basically our very beginning.
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility oversees our sounding rockets program.
We've launched them at Wallops, as well as around the world,
from Australia to Alaska, giving everyone from experienced researchers to students
a chance to launch their science.