00:00On this day in space.
00:03On November 4, 2015, the United States Air Force planned to launch an experimental rocket for small satellites.
00:10The launch didn't go according to plan.
00:12For this mission, the Air Force was testing out the Super Stripey rocket.
00:16The rocket used a rail to help with the liftoff.
00:19Super Stripey left the ground, but the rocket quickly spun out of control.
00:23When it crashed, it destroyed all of the tiny satellites riding on the rocket.
00:27The cause? Likely a problem with the first stage motor.
00:31The mission lost 13 tiny satellites known as CubeSats.
00:34CubeSats are a popular option for space missions because they are small and cheap, and they often operate in swarms.
00:40After failing to launch this batch of CubeSats, the Super Stripey program never recovered from its failure,
00:45and the Air Force never tried launching another one.
00:48And that's what happened on this day in space.
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