I Tried Building My Own Space Satellite

Metatube

One small step for mankind, one giant leap for your selfie game. GET YOUR OWN space selfie at http://spaceselfie.com  Big thanks to my friends at T-Mobile for supporting this project in celebration of their progress towards breakthrough satellite coverage.  Your selfie. Displayed on a Google Pixel. In space. Pixel users can get updates and a free code this January when SATGUS takes flight, follow: @teampixel for more updates! https://www.instagram.com/teampixel/ #googlepartner   Get your CrunchLabs box today: Build Box for kids click here: https://crunchlabs.com/SpaceBB Hack Pack for teens and adults click here: https://crunchlabs.com/SpaceHP  Thanks to everyone who helped with this incredible build:  Our Build team at Tyvak International for helping us bring SAT GUS to life! https://tyvak.eu/ SCHOTT for providing radiation resistant glass https://schott.com/ REDWIRE for providing the Space hardened camera https://redwirespace.com/ Muon Space for thermal vacuum testing https://www.muonspace.com/ The Vibrational Testing Laboratory of Centrotecnica Srl https://www.centrotecnica.net And to @SpaceX  for some of the video footage.    With special thanks to the Explosives Research Lab at Colorado School of Mines https://erl.mines.edu/  Thanks to these folks for providing some of the music in the video: Ponder - @Pondermusic  Laura Shigihara - @supershigi  Andrew Applepie - https://soundcloud.com/andrewapplepie Blue Wednesday - https://soundcloud.com/bluewednesday Danijel Zambo - https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/1ZD9ri2wmZZPL4qs92sXZX?si=iI7jkn-qSY-6NKo931314Q  PLATINUM TICKET INSTANT WIN GAME NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Promotion starts on 06/1/2024 & ends on 05/31/25, subject to monthly entry deadlines. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 18+. 1 prize per month: each month is its own separate promotion. For the first 2-3 months, winner may be notified via phone call instead of winning game piece. If a monthly prize is unclaimed/forfeited, it will be awarded via 2nd chance drawing. See Official Rules at crunchlabs.com/sweepstakes for full details on eligibility requirements, how to enter, free method of entry, prize claim procedure, prize description and limitations. Void where prohibited.  PLATINUM DIPLOMA SWEEPSTAKES NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends 4/30/25, Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., 14+. Visit https://www.crunchlabs.com/pages/crunchlabs-hack-pack-platinum-diploma-sweepstakes for Official Rules including full details on eligibility requirements, how to enter, entry periods, free method of entry, entry limits, prize claim procedure, prize description and limitations. Void where prohibited.  Changes were made to several assets used under Creative Commons in this video.  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Thanks to the creators of 3d models and images, including Umar.Km, JordyConaert, Vaidanshi, Pa3weg, and others.

Transcript

00:00This is my brand-new, custom-built satellite called SAC-GUS,

00:03and in about a month, she'll be zooming by

00:05way up in space at five miles per second.

00:08But what makes SAC-GUS so special

00:10is that she's got a phone right here

00:11and a camera right here,

00:13and her sole purpose is to take your selfie in space

00:16with the Earth photobombing you.

00:18And it gets even cooler,

00:19because if you tell me the city you live in

00:21when you upload your picture to the satellite,

00:23we'll not only take the selfie over your city,

00:25but we'll tell you precisely when that will happen.

00:27So if you go out to Yard and Wave,

00:29you'll technically be in the photo twice.

00:31It's incredible we live in a day and age

00:32where just an everyday civilian like you and me

00:34can just decide to build something

00:36and then send it to space.

00:38So today, I'm gonna give you a six-step crash course

00:41that will tell you all you need to know

00:43to build and launch your own creation to space one day.

00:45And these six steps are very near and dear to my heart,

00:48because these are the exact same six steps

00:50I first learned when I was a young engineer at NASA

00:52working on the Mars rover.

00:53So for step one, right out of the gate,

00:55you gotta first design your creation digitally in CAD.

00:58And that stands for computer-aided design,

01:00and it's really the first step

01:01for anything that gets made and manufactured these days.

01:04From a Mars rover, to a phone, to a hammer,

01:07to a shampoo bottle, CAD is critical

01:09for visualizing what it will look like

01:11and helping make design decisions

01:13about what should go where.

01:14In our case, after a few months of the design phase,

01:16we landed on something that looked like this.

01:18And it might look really impressive,

01:20and in many ways it is, but we sort of cheated

01:22and saved ourselves a lot of time and money

01:24because this is something called a CubeSat.

01:26About 25 years ago, a couple Stanford professors

01:28realized every satellite that goes to space

01:31needs all the same basic elements,

01:32like solar panels, radios, and computers.

01:35So instead of everyone having to start from scratch

01:37and reinvent the wheel every time,

01:38they standardized the basic necessary hardware and sizes.

01:41Of the most common sizes used,

01:43the smallest is a 1U satellite,

01:45which is just a little bit bigger than a Rubik's Cube.

01:47And then there's the 2U, which is just two Rubik's Cubes,

01:50so double that, and the 3U, the 6U, and the 12U.

01:54And this is the size we're using for SatGus.

01:57The way it works then is all the hardware necessary

01:59for the basic functionality of the satellite,

02:01like the flight computer, takes up this space.

02:03But then that leaves all this extra room for the payload,

02:06in other words, the purpose of your satellite.

02:08Like, what do you want it to do?

02:10In our case, that would be a camera and a screen

02:12for taking the pictures.

02:13So for your first creation you'll be sending to space,

02:15I highly recommend you make it a CubeSat

02:17because that will reduce your development costs 100 times,

02:20from tens of millions of dollars

02:22to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

02:24So I want to talk about what's actually on SatGus,

02:26because you'll need a lot of the same hardware yourself.

02:28But first, let's talk about what makes it unique,

02:31which is our payload,

02:32or how we're going to take the pictures.

02:34Once we get to space and everything's looking good,

02:36these two spring-loaded panels rotate open.

02:38On one we've got a Google Pixel phone

02:40in a radiation-resistant case,

02:41and then on the other we've got a camera

02:43that's specifically been designed

02:44to withstand the harsh space environment.

02:46So once we beam your picture up to the satellite,

02:48we'll display it on the phone screen,

02:50and then the camera will take an HDR picture

02:52and then beam the image back to Earth.

02:54And you'll notice there's actually an identical setup

02:56of a phone and camera on the other side of SatGus as well.

02:58That's basically a full backup system

03:00since we can't go to space and fix things

03:02if there's a problem with the primary camera.

03:04For power, it's not feasible

03:05to run an extension cord all the way up to space,

03:07so she's got two fixed solar panels

03:09that dump their power into some 120-watt-hour batteries.

03:13The solar panels provide enough power

03:14to fully charge your phone nine times

03:16every 90-minute orbit

03:17if they're optimally pointed at the sun.

03:19But this actually creates a big problem for us.

03:21We have to point this way at the sun

03:23to charge up the solar panels,

03:24but then we have to point this way at the Earth

03:26to send and receive pictures,

03:28and then this way down into Earth to take the selfies.

03:30So how do we move around in space

03:32when there's no fuel or thrusters

03:33and there's no atmosphere to push against

03:35so propellers won't work?

03:37Well, here's a hint.

03:38See this cube?

03:38It's just hanging by the swivel mount,

03:40and it doesn't have any thrusters

03:42or propellers attached to it either.

03:43And yet, when I push this button,

03:47I can get it to magically rotate and then stop.

03:51So can you guess what's going on inside

03:53to make that happen?

03:54Well, if we take off the panels to take a look,

03:56the trick is this spinning disc, or flywheel.

03:59Because angular momentum must be conserved,

04:00if the flywheel starts spinning one way,

04:02physics says the cube must rotate the other way

04:05to maintain equilibrium.

04:06So if you orient these three flywheels

04:08we call reaction wheels,

04:09all 90 degrees apart from each other,

04:11then you can spin them up and down

04:13to orient the whole satellite

04:15to any direction you want in space,

04:16and just like you can see here,

04:18they're incredibly precise.

04:20Now because rotating the satellite is critically important,

04:22for a backup and to help unspin these flywheels

04:25once they get to their max rotation speed,

04:27we've also got three torque rods.

04:29Again, all oriented 90 degrees to each other.

04:31These are super genius and are such a simple design,

04:34you can even make one yourself,

04:36where you just run a bunch of wire

04:37around a $2 piece of crystalline iron,

04:39and when you run a current through that wire,

04:41it creates a magnetic field.

04:43You can see proof of that here,

04:44because when we turn it on, it moves this compass.

04:46But that new magnetic field will want to line up

04:48with Earth's magnetic field,

04:50just like how normal magnets want to line up together.

04:52So you can see here, simply by turning it on

04:55and running current through the wire,

04:56seemingly by magic, you can change the orientation

04:59of this little floating platform.

05:01Another challenge we have is SatGus needs to know

05:03exactly where it is at all times relative to the Earth,

05:06so it knows when to snap your selfie

05:08as your neighborhood is passing underneath,

05:09along with a bunch of other reasons.

05:11To solve that, we've got a GPS on board,

05:13but that only tells us our location, not our orientation.

05:16So for orientation, we've got an IMU

05:18just like your phone does when it knows you've rotated it,

05:21as well as two star trackers

05:22that take pictures of the stars

05:24and match them against a catalog of star pictures

05:26to understand which way you're facing.

05:28But sometimes they can't see the stars

05:30because the sun's blinding them.

05:31So there's also two sun sensors

05:33that locate the brightest spot in the sky

05:35and just assume it's the sun,

05:36and those work great for course measurements.

05:38For the second to last critical piece of hardware,

05:40we need to be able to talk to it.

05:41For that, we've got two different radios,

05:43one slow and one fast.

05:45There's a UHF that has low data rates,

05:47and that's for basic commands and telemetry communication,

05:49and then an S-band, which is for higher data rates,

05:52like actually transmitting the pictures.

05:54And the final piece of hardware on SatGus

05:56that you're also gonna need for your own space build

05:58is the flight computer.

06:00This is the brains of the satellite,

06:01and it takes all the inputs from the sensors and radios,

06:04and then makes the choices on where to spin

06:06and take the pictures.

06:07For step two of building and sending something into space,

06:09we need to analyze our design,

06:11because there are four main ways space tries to kill you.

06:13So we need to investigate each of these

06:15and make sure we're protected.

06:16The first is that it will try and shake you to death.

06:19Technically, this actually happens on the launch pad

06:21before you get to space,

06:22but the rockets necessary to escape the Earth's gravity

06:25are so massive and powerful,

06:26the violent rumble inside the rocket

06:28is strong enough to break most items

06:30we use on a daily basis here on Earth,

06:32especially if you're vibrating

06:34at the same rate as the rocket.

06:36And here's what I mean by that.

06:37You know how if you push someone on a swing

06:39at just the right time, they go higher and higher?

06:42Is that too high?

06:43No.

06:44Is that too high?

06:45No.

06:45What?

06:47No.

06:48But then if you push at the wrong time,

06:49you actually mess up their swinging and they slow down.

06:52Everything has a resonant frequency,

06:55from your phone right after it hits the ground

06:57to your house in an earthquake.

06:58To illustrate, I've got three masses here

07:00that all weigh the same.

07:01They're just attached to different rod lengths.

07:03So as I increase the shaking of this base plate,

07:06see if you can spot when we hit a resonant frequency.

07:10Oh, there it is for the long one.

07:12It becomes like the swing,

07:14because we're adding more and more energy

07:15with each shake until it breaks.

07:19And now once again,

07:20if I increase how frequently this base shakes

07:23or its frequency,

07:24and we go past the resonant frequency of the big one,

07:27now the longer rod is fine,

07:28but the middle one hits its resonant frequency,

07:32and now it breaks.

07:33Now if I do this once more,

07:35and maybe pause at the first resonant frequency,

07:39and maybe I pause at the second,

07:42and then I crank it all the way up,

07:48we get close,

07:49but we never quite hit the resonant frequency

07:51of the small one.

07:52And that's the key.

07:53The shaking base plate

07:55represents the rumbling, shaking rocket.

07:57We have to make sure all of our hardware

07:59has a resonant frequency above the rockets,

08:01just like the short one did,

08:03so it doesn't break off like the longer two.

08:05But how do we do that?

08:07Well, remember that CAD model we created in step one

08:09to organize and package everything?

08:10We put it to double use,

08:12because now we turn it into a finite element model.

08:14This means we take the whole structure

08:16and divide it into a lot of little chunks called a mesh.

08:19Each chunk is small and simple enough

08:21where we can use really basic physics equations

08:23to see how it will affect the chunks next to it

08:25if you start vibrating them.

08:26So now the computer just has to solve

08:28lots of really simple equations that are all connected,

08:30as opposed to one single impossibly difficult equation

08:33to make sure that the resonant frequency

08:35for the whole satellite and each individual part

08:37are all higher than the rocket shake frequency.

08:40After that, even though we know we won't overlap

08:42with that low resonant frequency,

08:43where things will go really bonkers,

08:45it's still a pretty violent shake.

08:47So we use that same finite element model

08:49to make sure all the pieces on the satellite

08:51are still strong enough to even withstand

08:53those lower level forces.

08:54The second way space tries to kill you

08:56is it wants to both burn and freeze you to death.

08:59Here on Earth, we've got a nice, cozy atmosphere

09:01that acts like a giant blanket

09:03that holds in heat from the sun

09:04and moves heat around through wind,

09:05which keeps the temperatures relatively stable.

09:08But in space, there's no atmosphere

09:09and no wind, and so in a single orbit,

09:11parts of the satellite can get as hot

09:13as 212 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun

09:16and then as cold as negative 112 degrees Fahrenheit

09:19in the shade.

09:20That's like going from nearly twice

09:21the hottest temperature ever recorded in a desert on Earth

09:24to the coldest temperature ever recorded

09:26in Antarctica every 90 minutes.

09:28If we don't protect against it,

09:29those temperature swings would freeze

09:31or overheat the electronics pretty fast.

09:33So once again, we use that mesh

09:35that makes the math really simple.

09:36Only now we investigate how heat spreads

09:38through the metal structure when it's in direct sunlight

09:41or in Earth's cool shade.

09:42Once you've done that,

09:43you now know where to place the heater,

09:45such as near the flight computer

09:46so we can make sure it doesn't get too cold in the shade,

09:48and then surface coatings as radiators

09:50to make sure it doesn't get too hot in the sun.

09:52The third way space is trying to kill you

09:53is to sunburn you to death.

09:55An hour in direct sunlight in space

09:57is equal to an entire year of standing in sunlight on Earth,

10:01thanks again to our protective, healthful atmosphere.

10:03So we need to effectively put sunscreen on the satellite

10:06by placing critical electronics

10:08behind a thick enough piece of metal or glass

10:10or else the extreme, harsh radiation

10:12from the sun and other sources

10:13would damage the electronics.

10:15But how thick should it be?

10:16Because we have a very tight weight budget

10:18and we can't afford to make an enclosure

10:19thicker and heavier than it absolute needs to.

10:22Well, as an example of how we figured that out,

10:24we took our Google Pixel

10:25and placed it in a radiation chamber

10:26that mimics the harsh space environment,

10:28then blasted it with radiation,

10:30and it actually lasted about 10 minutes,

10:32which is pretty impressive.

10:33Plus, it looked really cool.

10:34And so now that we know

10:35exactly what amount of radiation

10:37causes phone screen failure,

10:38we can calculate how thick

10:39the aluminum and glass enclosure needs to be

10:41to make sure we stay well below that value.

10:44In our case, the necessary layer of sunscreen

10:46ended up being aluminum that's six millimeters thick

10:48and a radiation-hardened glass

10:49that's five millimeters thick.

10:51Speaking of super advanced phones in space,

10:53we partnered with both Google Pixel and T-Mobile

10:55to make this whole thing happen.

10:56Google Pixel was the obvious choice

10:58to take the first ever selfie from space

11:00because of its specifically tested durability,

11:02bright, high-resolution display,

11:04and the RealTone technology

11:05that accurately displays all skin tones.

11:07And then T-Mobile,

11:08because they're already partnering with Starlink

11:09to provide satellite coverage to keep you connected

11:12in places you never thought possible.

11:14So they were our experts when exploring

11:15how to communicate with our selfie satellite.

11:17And the fourth and final way space is trying to kill you

11:20is to vacuum you to death.

11:21We don't always realize it,

11:23but we're at the bottom of a huge dogpile of air molecules,

11:26which means our body is constantly pushing back

11:28against all that collective weight we call air pressure.

11:31But if you remove all that air pressure

11:33to mimic space conditions

11:34by sucking it out with this vacuum chamber,

11:37you can see exactly why astronauts need to wear

11:39an air-pressurized suit when they're out in space

11:41that pushes in all around them as if they're on Earth.

11:44Now, of course, our satellite isn't carrying marshmallows,

11:46but it does have some rubber and foam and lithium batteries

11:49that, once put in the vacuum of space,

11:51can all puff out or release gases

11:53that could damage other equipment

11:54if we don't take all the necessary precautions.

11:56So there's a couple other small things

11:58to watch out for, like corrosion,

11:59but those are the four main ways

12:01space is trying to kill your future space creation.

12:04But you'll notice I didn't say you need to worry

12:06about crashing into other satellites orbiting in space.

12:09And this might come as a surprise

12:10if you've ever seen this picture

12:12that accurately represents the number of satellites

12:14and other objects currently orbiting our planet,

12:17because it looks really, really crowded.

12:18The problem is those satellites aren't drawn to scale,

12:21just as the airplanes in this representation

12:23of daily flights across the whole planet

12:25aren't drawn to scale.

12:26SatGus doesn't even need thrusters

12:28to avoid another satellite

12:29because the chances of a collision happening

12:31are so incredibly low.

12:32In fact, if you calculate based off volume

12:34of usable space occupied in orbit in a given day,

12:36space is one million times less crowded with satellites

12:40than our skies are with airplanes.

12:42And then think about how rare it is

12:43to ever see even two airplanes

12:45close to each other in the sky.

12:47So space is one million times less crowded than that.

12:50As humans, we actively track

12:51all 44,000 satellites and objects

12:54orbiting the Earth larger than a baseball.

12:56And there's international rules now

12:57if you put a satellite up into orbit,

12:58it needs to burn up and disintegrate after a few years.

13:01So before we move on to step three

13:02of our mini space program

13:04and actually build the dang thing,

13:05now's a good time to point out

13:06SatGus will only be alive and orbiting

13:09anywhere from one to three years

13:11before it burns up upon re-entry.

13:14So if you want that space selfie,

13:16you're gonna wanna get yours now

13:17by visiting spaceselfie.com

13:19or using the link in the video description.

13:21Once you're on the site, it's pretty straightforward.

13:23You just upload the selfie you want

13:24and then choose things like if you want the daytime

13:26or nighttime Earth photobombing.

13:28You can also select if you wanna take the picture

13:31and then we'll tell you exactly

13:33when we're gonna snap the picture.

13:34So don't forget to go outside

13:36and wave at that very moment.

13:37When you submit your picture at spaceselfie.com,

13:40not only will you get this free,

13:41super cool mission patch in the mail,

13:43but it means you'll also have a chance

13:44to come out and watch the rocket launch in California

13:46in a month or two with me and my team.

13:48Now of course, all this is free

13:50if you're a current Crunch Lab subscriber

13:51or if you become one now

13:53if you want that perfect holiday gift.

13:54Yay!

13:57Otherwise, all you gotta do is sponsor one box

13:59for a kid who can't afford it.

14:01Either one's a great choice.

14:02But I'll just point out, if you're like me

14:04and one of your favorite things in life

14:05is experiencing those aha moments

14:07where you learn something new,

14:08like maybe that's even happened watching this video.

14:11And if so, you're gonna love the Crunch Lab's Build Box

14:13if you're a kid or the Crunch Lab's Hack Pack

14:16if you're a teen or adult.

14:17In both cases, they get delivered right to your door

14:19where we build them together

14:20and learn all the really cool science and physics

14:22that make them work.

14:23For example, Build Box subscribers

14:24already learned all about the flywheels

14:26we talked about earlier in the video

14:27because the first mechanical toy we put together

14:30is this super fun mini disc launcher

14:32where the physics principle we discussed

14:33in the exclusive video for me is flywheels.

14:37And for Hack Pack, we take it up a notch

14:38with a really cool robot

14:40that will work right out of the box

14:41with no programming required

14:42but that has a fun incentive to dig in and tweak the code.

14:45We make it easy to level up the robot's capabilities

14:48using the online coding module.

14:49And since the holidays are here,

14:50there's nothing more fun to put on your list

14:52nor is there a better gift to give

14:54than an investment in the future

14:55of that favorite person in your life

14:57as you watch their confidence,

14:58understanding, and resilience grow.

15:00On top of that, I promise you'll be guaranteed

15:03to be the first person

15:04that has ever gifted them a picture of themselves

15:06actually in freaking outer space.

15:08So to get all that, just go to crunchlabs.com

15:10or use the link in the video description

15:11or to say thank you, we're giving away either one

15:13or two free boxes as a holiday special.

15:16All right, so now that we've completed step one,

15:18the design of our satellite,

15:19and then step two, by doing all the math and analysis

15:22to make sure it will survive the brutality of space,

15:24we finally have the confidence to start step three,

15:26actually building it.

15:27And as is tradition here,

15:29we're just gonna knock it out in a 15 second build montage.

15:32Hey, hey!

15:33Hey!

15:34Hey!

15:35Hey!

15:36Hey!

15:37Hey!

15:38Hey!

15:39Hey!

15:40Hey!

15:41Hey!

15:42Hey!

15:43Hey!

15:44Hey!

15:46Once your space hardware's all put together,

15:48you're gonna wanna run through

15:49a full hardware software test

15:51to make sure everything is working

15:52exactly how it was designed to.

15:54So for us, that includes things like unfurling

15:56and then testing the solar panels,

15:57test deploying both our camera and our screen,

16:00and running a full selfie upload and transmission test.

16:03Now I mentioned earlier,

16:04SatGus actually has two screens

16:06and two space-hardened RedWire cameras.

16:08Now hopefully we never end up

16:10using the redundant backup set,

16:11but it's there just in case the first one

16:13stops working for any reason,

16:15because we can't exactly just go up to space and fix it.

16:17This is actually pretty common

16:19when designing things for space,

16:20especially for mission-critical items.

16:22Even my own hardware I designed for the rover had a backup.

16:25Both these doors could open

16:26and accept an individual dirt sample from the rover arm,

16:29even though the dirt actually went

16:30to the same place to get analyzed.

16:32So once everything looks good,

16:33all you need to do now is sign the thing

16:36and then add some googly eyes.

16:37Ahem.

16:38Okay, fine.

16:39Sadly, googly eyes aren't allowed in space.

16:41Now that it's officially built

16:42and everything seems to be working,

16:44it's time for step four,

16:45which we refer to at NASA as the shake and bake.

16:48Basically, when we analyzed the design in step two,

16:50we predicted how SatGus would respond

16:52to the extreme vibrations and temperature fluctuations

16:56from launch in space.

16:57Now it's time to run some tests

16:58by shaking it and baking it

17:00to reassure ourselves that our predictions were accurate.

17:02For the shake part, we attach SatGus to a shake table

17:05and shake it in all three directions for one minute.

17:08We also shake it at a bunch of different frequencies

17:10to make sure there aren't any unexpected

17:12resonant frequency issues with any of the hardware.

17:14Now, the intensity of the shake is a little bit more

17:16than what we'll see on the launch pad,

17:17so if she survives this,

17:18we now have both analytical and actual proof

17:21she'll survive the ride to space.

17:23We're also checking to make sure nothing comes loose.

17:25For example, if you don't glue your fastening hardware down,

17:27as you can see here,

17:28all the vibrations can actually cause them

17:30to unscrew themselves.

17:31For the bake part, we put SatGus in a vacuum oven,

17:34just like space,

17:35and then cycled it to the maximum

17:37and minimum temperature three times

17:39and even operated the satellite at these temperatures

17:41for extra peace of mind that once again,

17:43both analytically and practically with a test,

17:45when she gets to space,

17:47she'll have no problems with the vacuum

17:49and she won't freeze or burn to death.

17:50So once you're done with the shake and bake

17:52and you use some final tests

17:53to confirm everything's still working perfectly,

17:55now you can load it into its launch dispenser

17:58and pack it up.

17:58When you get to orbit,

17:59the dispenser will stay attached to the rocket,

18:01but the ejection spring mechanism inside it

18:03will gently push SatGus out to space.

18:06Another nice feature of the dispenser

18:07is that it has rubber isolation dampers

18:09where it attaches to the satellite.

18:10This serves to further limit

18:12the amount of shaking the satellite will feel.

18:14It's the same kind of thing tall skyscrapers use

18:16to limit how much shaking they feel from an earthquake.

18:19You can see how much this tower shakes

18:21when directly attached to the shaker table,

18:22but if we separate it with rubber pads,

18:24now you can see the shaking is greatly reduced.

18:27So now with everything packed up and ready to go,

18:29the next stop is step five, the launch pad.

18:32SatGus will be launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9

18:34for Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

18:36Now when you launch your own creation to space,

18:38I recommend SpaceX because they're currently

18:40the most inexpensive option by far.

18:42Also, when you book a spot on the rocket,

18:44the website makes it feel like you're just ordering a pizza

18:47as you select all the options you want,

18:49such as which orbit, launch date, interface plate options,

18:51or even add-ons like extra fuel.

18:53Now Vandenberg might seem like an odd choice to launch from,

18:56but it's really strategic.

18:58Because we want to take satellite pictures

18:59over every spot on the Earth,

19:01we don't want an orbit that circles

19:03this way around the Earth.

19:04We need an orbit that circles this way

19:06so we have full coverage of every spot

19:08as the Earth rotates underneath us.

19:10Fun fact, spy satellites also have orbits like this

19:13so they can also take pictures anywhere on Earth.

19:15So to get this kind of orbit, we need to launch to the south

19:18and for safety reasons, it needs to be over water.

19:20And this makes Vandenberg an ideal choice

19:23in the United States.

19:23Now if you're sending something to Mars

19:25and you need to escape Earth's gravity,

19:27for that you want to be as close to the equator as possible

19:30because you save fuel by taking advantage of the fact

19:33that you're already moving a thousand miles per hour

19:35to the east as the Earth rotates

19:38versus zero miles per hour to the east

19:40if you launch from, say, the south or north pole.

19:42This is why in the United States,

19:43those missions either launch from here or here

19:46because they're as south as possible

19:48and both launch east safely over water.

19:50Now SACAs won't be alone on this trip.

19:52They'll be anywhere from 50 to 100 others

19:54hitching a ride all contained up in the nose part

19:57of the Falcon 9.

19:58That portion that carries the thing you care about

20:00putting in space is called the fairing

20:02and on the Falcon 9, it's big enough to house a school bus.

20:05Then down below at the bottom,

20:07you've got a big liquid oxygen and fuel tank

20:09that power nine engines and then a smaller identical set

20:12near the top with a single engine

20:14because these two parts will eventually separate

20:16when we get to space.

20:17After a very dramatic and very powerful lift-off sequence

20:21with the equivalent energy of setting off

20:22nearly 8,000 sticks of dynamite,

20:25the Falcon 9 launches off the coast.

20:28It takes about two and a half minutes

20:29before it's traveling at 3,700 miles per hour.

20:32Now it's time for the main booster

20:34to separate from the top portion

20:35where SAC Gus is stowed away.

20:37What's really cool though is that it falls back to Earth

20:40and then eventually flies itself autonomously

20:43back to a landing pad so it can be used for another flight.

20:46This is one way SpaceX is able to fly things

20:48so much cheaper because boosters used to not be reusable

20:51and you'd have to build a new one for every single flight.

20:54Now the remaining single engine fires itself up

20:56for the first time to keep building up some speed

20:59and 30 seconds later, three minutes after launch,

21:01the fairing splits in two and peels off,

21:04exposing all the satellites as the engines continue to fire.

21:07It then continues accelerating for an additional five minutes

21:10getting up to a speed of five miles per second,

21:13which is about 10 times faster than a bullet

21:16at which point, just nine minutes after launch,

21:18it cuts off the engines.

21:19Now it will just silently coast for close to an hour

21:22after which it will take about two hours

21:24to deploy each of the satellites,

21:26including ours, one by one,

21:28as it completes an orbit around Earth.

21:29And this brings us to our sixth and final step

21:32of our bootstrapped space program, which is operations.

21:35Once SAC Gus ventures off on her own,

21:36after a couple hours, we should hear back from her

21:39saying everything's going great.

21:40After that, she'll stretch out her solar panels

21:43and then deploy the screening camera.

21:45We'll be monitoring all her vitals

21:46from this mission control room here,

21:48and after a couple weeks,

21:49when everything is confirmed to be in perfect working order,

21:51she'll start taking the selfies.

21:53And she'll keep taking selfies every single day

21:56until she reaches her honorable end

21:58in approximately one to three years.

22:00And this might seem sad, but there's no way around it

22:03because as her orbit decays over time,

22:05she starts bonking into more and more air molecules

22:07as the atmosphere gets thicker and thicker,

22:09slowing her down even more.

22:11And because she has the energy of a 55-pound cannonball

22:14traveling 10 times faster than a bullet,

22:16he builds up dramatically from so much air friction

22:18and she disintegrates spectacularly

22:21in a glorious hot fireball.

22:22And to give you a sense

22:23of just how much energy this actually is,

22:25this is a model of our satellite

22:27subjected to only five-sixths of dynamite,

22:29or one-one-hundredth the reentry energy.

22:32Which honestly is a pretty epic way

22:37to mic drop a mission fully accomplished.

22:40I've been working on creating this satellite

22:41with my team for over three years,

22:43and after all that, we're currently right here

22:45in our six-step space program

22:47with launch happening in a month or two.

22:48So let's do this together.

22:50Go visit spaceselfie.com, upload your picture,

22:53then I'll send you the free mission patch,

22:54and maybe you'll even be selected

22:56to come out and watch the launch with me.

22:57Since I was a kid, gazing up at the night sky

23:00has filled me with such wonder.

23:02And seeing all the stars, and even our own galaxy,

23:05and thinking about our place and potential as humans

23:08amongst all those stars sparked my first love for science

23:11and eventually led me to Mars.

23:13So in some small way, sharing that wonder with all of you

23:16feels really special, and fills me with hope

23:18for the next generation of big problem solvers.

23:28Let's do this.

23:31With the holidays right here,

23:32what about getting, or giving, a different way to think?

23:35Time's up!

23:36Yeah!

23:37Or how about even a free college tuition?

23:41That's awesome.

23:42Well, in either case, Crunch Labs has you covered,

23:45because every Hack Pack has a chance

23:46to contain the Platinum Diploma.

23:48Fierce has it, college tuition is free for you

23:51or someone you love.

23:52As for the thinking part,

23:54oh!

23:55Of course, you get that for kids with the build box,

23:57but for teens and adults,

23:58if you've always wanted to make and build cool stuff,

24:00but just haven't figured out that first step,

24:02Hack Pack is it,

24:03because you're getting a series

24:04of really fun programmable robots

24:06that get delivered right to your door,

24:08where we build them together and learn step-by-step

24:10the kinds of engineering skills

24:11that go into making the builds on my YouTube channel.

24:14And they work with no programming required,

24:15but since my goal is to take you

24:17from wherever you're currently at and then level you up,

24:18you can easily hack the microcontroller brains

24:21of any of these robots in a bunch of ways

24:23to completely level up the functionality.

24:25There's also a community where you can share your builds

24:27and post your questions,

24:28as well as an AI chatbot named Mark Robot

24:30that will check your code

24:31and even help you implement your most creative ideas.

24:34So no matter what your age,

24:35this holiday season,

24:36if you wanna grow your brain in really fun ways

24:39and get or give someone their actual picture

24:41from actual space,

24:42just go to crunchslabs.com,

24:44use the link in the video description

24:45where to say thank you,

24:46we're giving away either one or two free boxes

24:48as a holiday special.

24:50Thanks for watching.

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