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00:05some machines are made to work but others the most impossible machines in
00:11the world change the way things work carving new paths a one-of-a-kind plane
00:18no one else has tried to build an aircraft like this before a gravity
00:23defying funicular and an exceptional telescope machines designed for a
00:30special purpose surpassing all expectation
00:40deep in the Mojave Desert a remote facility is buzzing with activity
00:51this is Stratolaunch an aerospace company on a mission to design manufacture and launch air
01:00and space vehicles into orbit it's home to the largest fixed-wing aircraft in the world a
01:09one-of-a-kind icon of the air meet the rock
01:16you cannot take your eyes off it it dominates the landscape it's just so large and you can't even
01:26imagine a scale until you're sitting out in front of it on the runway your eyes are not deceiving you
01:32this plane has not one but two bodies and attached to them is a wing that's as long as a
01:38football field
01:40when you contrast the rocks wingspan to other large aircraft it totally dwarfs them in size its
01:47wingspan is nearly 49 meters wider than a Boeing 747 it's 50 meters wider than the air force's largest
01:57plane the c5 galaxy and it takes 19 fighter jets placed wingtip to wingtip to equal the rocks reach
02:08the biggest wing in the world it's hard to imagine that a giant like this could ever be built let
02:17alone be able to take off and fly but that gigantic wing serves a gigantic purpose a wing that's this
02:23high and straight and long combined with two underslung fuselages it's optimized for maximum lift
02:29that means the aircraft can take off will carry unbelievably heavy loads to take you know something
02:37this massive and then you know put it in flight it's kind of magical the continuous wing is designed
02:45not for what its two bodies hold but for what's between the rock was named after a mythological flying
02:54bird and it was known for carrying elephants and so that's very analogous to exactly what rock is
03:01basically carrying very large heavy objects which is exactly its purpose and why it's such a unique
03:06aircraft like a mama bat carries its pups in flight the rock transports vehicles into the air from the
03:12underside of its enormous wing nestled between its two bodies and the rock is capable of lifting
03:18incredibly heavy payloads imagine a 500,000 pound rocket strapped underneath the center wing of this
03:26aircraft dropping it at 35,000 feet launching that rocket and carrying it up to orbit booster rockets
03:35like the Atlas of the Falcon that launched satellites into orbit use incredible amounts of energy to escape
03:41Earth's gravity typically more than 90% of a rocket's total weight is fuel the space shuttle was an even
03:49greater burden demanding even bigger boosters all these missions had to take place on enormous launch
03:56sites like Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center that's where the rock is different and has
04:02reimagined the concept of the rocket launch rockets a launch site are typically constrained to that
04:09geographic location so they're stuck to that pad or that space where they have to take off from
04:14an air launch platform like rock is unique because we can take off from here in mohage this morning but
04:20we could get out to any location and drop a very large payload or a very large rocket the rock
04:26can
04:26effectively turn any tarmac into a shuttle launch pad no need for NASA as long as you have a large
04:33enough
04:33runway the rock can do its thing and launch rockets from anywhere the team of engineers test pilots and
04:40crew at strato launch are continuously pushing the boundaries of aviation it's been that way from the
04:47start he utterly reimagined aircraft a plane with two bodies I go haul rockets to edge of space was
04:54conceived in 2010 as just a sketch on a napkin initially the rock was designed to carry large payloads and
05:01satellites into orbit but that evolved into the flight testing of hypersonic vehicles launching an
05:08eight-year journey into the stratosphere building one of the biggest aircraft in the world meant they
05:17needed a really big hangar the result was the 30,000 square meter facility at the mojave air and
05:24space point things move quickly with construction getting underway in 2011 by using surplus aircraft
05:31and off-the-shelf parts whenever possible they were able to expedite the process because they could be
05:37designing and building as they went along design and build were done in parallel they didn't have
05:43to start from scratch all of the guts and the components inside that make the aircraft function all were
05:50taken from two existing 747 aircraft we took all those 747 components the living breathing systems we
05:59designed them into this new airframe structure and we made the aircraft come alive here in lohofe the rock
06:07aircraft was designed with two fuselages spread far apart it allows a very large space such that we can
06:15carry these payloads up to 500,000 pounds so they look identical only the right one as a cockpit it's
06:22largely preserved from one of the strap 747s you've got bits like the throttles foot pedal even some of the
06:28old analog displays it's a bit strange looking but having twin bodies provides balance and stability for
06:33that very large wingspan legacy components were married to state-of-the-art mods it's the jumbo jet reborn the
06:41structure of the plane the bones that hold it all together had to be new and it's made of some
06:47of
06:47the largest composite components ever built in the world and they were made by hand by fabricators on
06:53site this is an aircraft born from a wild imagination to carry two fuselages tons of fuel and six jet
07:01engines not to mention the other aircraft or rocket it would carry it had to be strong just to get
07:06off the
07:07it's a pretty bold idea no one else has tried to build an aircraft like this before just because
07:14of the sheer undertaking there comes a point in every test program where you do all the design work and
07:21you do all your work on the computer and you do all the ground testing in the world but that
07:26day comes
07:27that you just you just have to go fly and so that day came April 13th 2019 it was a
07:34huge day we all came
07:37out and saw an amazing moment the world's largest aircraft takeoff from mojave airspace the rock is
07:51rated for a maximum takeoff weight of nearly 600 tons getting that much weight into the air requires a lot
07:59of engines rock has not one not two but six engines we can't move the aircraft without the engines so
08:08we got three on either wing these are proud Whitney at 4050 sixes put out a lot of thrust we
08:15did a lot
08:15of for us to lift this airplane this is the most thrust that any aircraft has ever flown with it's
08:20got 56,000 pounds of thrust from each of those six engines because the aircraft made up of two planes
08:28is
08:28so heavy the thrust coming from its six engines simultaneously is essential when you kick in all
08:35six engines it's fairly quick it gives you a little bit of a kick in the pants and then it
08:40starts just
08:41bouncing all over the place it starts getting very dynamic think of it like letting go of inflated balloon
08:46the air rushing out the back causes the balloon to move forward the heavier aircraft the more thrust
08:53is needed to overcome its weight and drag the gleaming exterior of the plane might be quite new but the
09:00engines themselves are getting their second chance they're a little bit older engines so these engines
09:06have a lot of hours on them but yeah they still work really well for us these jumbo vets are
09:13not ready
09:13for the scrap yard yet but they demand more inspection to ensure they're ready for takeoff
09:19engine inspections one of the first and last things we do constantly doing work on these guys making
09:24sure everything looks good making sure everything runs well we do maintenance on them constantly it's
09:30not just the engines that are meticulously checked every inch of the aircraft is inspected to ensure a
09:36successful launch we're going to start doing power on checks primarily we move the aircraft axes make
09:43sure the rudders the ailerons elevators are all moving the way they're supposed to
09:50by the time we're done with our testing we'll check all 14 flaps all 12 ailerons with four elevators four
09:58rudders 24 brakes and we've checked all of that for us to be ready to go fly tomorrow
10:08the rock was designed to bridge the gravity gap between the ground and space providing a launch pad
10:14to earth orbit now it has a new passenger a machine designed not for space but for speeds that were
10:21once
10:22unimaginable in earth's atmosphere forget supersonic these are hypersonic hypersonic vehicles can travel
10:30at a velocity greater than mach 5 that's five times the speed of sound it could revolutionize military and
10:37civilian transportation by providing unprecedented speed and maneuverability that's unbelievably fast a trip
10:45from new york city to los angeles at mach 5 that'd take you 30 maybe 40 minutes for strata launch
10:52this meant
10:53creating their own hypersonic vehicles in 2016 70 engineers toiled over four years to design the first
11:01operational model the talon a rocket the strata launch team uses the talent to conduct high-speed experiments
11:09for both military and commercial applications it's being tested to see how it holds up to immense
11:15heat generating hypersonic flight as well as testing for demand sensors instrumentation and guidance and
11:21navigation systems so talent a is a reusable hypersonic test spec it's fully autonomous and unmanned
11:28so the talent is preloaded with a pre-flight trajectory and used to fly various payloads and technologies
11:36usually rockets are expendable vehicles that don't come back we've all seen rockets that explode burn up
11:43in space or crash into the ocean but what's amazing is the talent a was designed as a reusable rocket
11:49that can fly mission after mission and safely land back on a runway ready now
11:56the talent a is the result of humanity's desire to be the fastest thing on the planet
12:02but even this hypersonic vehicle needs a boost talent a is unable to take off straight from the ground air
12:09launch capability is is pretty simple you basically take an aircraft and you take another aircraft and
12:16you mount them to each other you take off from a conventional runway and you get up to a flying
12:21altitude and you drop that other aircraft off of the rock aircraft the rock has a unique way of cradling
12:31its precious cargo right now we are under the wing of the rock launch platform and right to the right
12:37of me is our pylon system the pylon system is used for connecting the talent a vehicle with the rock
12:45and it
12:46is what allows us to safely separate when we're at high altitudes the pylon is a specialized mounting
12:53structure located on the center wing and it's where the hypersonic vehicles are attached to the rock
12:59the pylon has its own mini wing 2.1 meters below the bottom of the main wing this keeps the
13:05rocket at
13:06a safe distance when it's time to launch the pylon has a series of winches to load the hypersonic vehicle
13:13onto its platform from the ground the talent is basically hitching a ride on the coolest plane in the world
13:19this is what the rock was built to do once the winches raise the talent up below the rock's wing
13:27the vehicle is attached to the pylon at three different points by a series of explosive metal
13:32alloy bolts after takeoff when the rock has reached 35 000 feet the flight engineer triggers the
13:38detonation the explosive within the bolts ignites cleanly breaking the connection between the talon
13:44and the pylon once the talent drops from the rock its rocket booster engine shoots it across the stratosphere
13:50and when it completes its flight a navigation system operated by master control guides the talent
13:56back down to earth for its landing the talent is the flash but the true mvp of the mission is
14:01the rock
14:01making all of this possible
14:11today the rock is running a test flight to get it ready for its next rocket launching mission
14:17this airplane is going to do something that it has not done in the history of its existence it's
14:22going to do a touch and go for the first time it's going to be exciting everybody's excited to do
14:26anything with this airplane for the first time a touch and go is a training maneuver where a pilot lands
14:32an aircraft on the runway and then immediately takes off again without stopping or exiting the runway
14:37touch and goes are essential what it allows the pilot to do is practice the two most critical portions of
14:45a flight take off and landing this is a you know going to be it's only 25th flight ever we're
14:51still
14:51kind of developing the airplane so it's kind of it's kind of cool to do it for the uh the
14:55first time and
14:56really feel like you're a part of the development of the airplane with only 25 flights under that big
15:02wing there is no such thing as routine each mission is treated like the first every component is checked
15:10and double checked so pre-flight check uh you know we do a pretty thorough job there's a lot to
15:16check in
15:17this giant airplane general overall integrity tires overall servicing i'm kind of just looking over it
15:23as kind of a final check the pre-flight check isn't just for the airplane the tarmac is checked as
15:30well
15:31something as small as a stray screw on the runway could be disastrous
15:37we're doing a fod walk just picking up any of the debris on the pad that could cause issues get
15:43stuck in tires and stuff fod prevention is a big deal in uh aviation fod is short for foreign object
15:51debris uh fod walk is a safety procedure where ground crew find and remove any objects that could be
15:57dangerous to the aircraft even the smallest object or debris on the tarmac could be catastrophic for the
16:04mission in 2000 a piece of debris on the tarmac punctured a tire on the air france concord
16:11after takeoff pieces from that tire struck the fuel tank resulting in a fire and the plane crashing
16:17killing all 109 people on board that's why bod checks are so vital they ensure that this one-of-a
16:24-kind
16:24aircraft gets safely airborne i'm looking for any like big rocks or anything that could get stuck in an
16:32aircraft tire like that's actually what i'm looking for that's an aircraft fastener so this could be
16:38off of a panel it could be off of anything somehow ended up on the ramp this is the kind
16:43of stuff we're
16:44trying to prevent final inspection is complete everything looks really good we're good to fly
16:52once the fog walk and all the safety checks are done it's go time
16:58the plane is lined up on the runway test control you're cleared in card nine bravo
17:05all systems are go parking brake is released ready and the rock is cleared for takeoff ready for its short
17:14but critical journey
17:20it's a cool feeling as soon as you get airborne it's kind of like being in love
17:27it's just a good feeling makes you feel a little warm inside i guess
17:36the pilots circle back and line up with the runway
17:40with cool efficiency and steady hands they maneuver the rock for multiple touch-and-goes
17:53you can't go through the runway 269-210-6-3-2-8
18:09the straddle launch crew gives itself a round of applause
18:13another milestone for this magnificent machine test went very well today nice and smooth we had no
18:20surprises very successful and another one in the books for rock
18:27the rocks game-changing combination of payload capacity and support of hypersonic flight is
18:33revolutionary and has reshaped aviation i'm extremely excited about the future of hypersonics there's so
18:41many different applications out there and ways that we can use it to better our society the rock is
18:47one of the mightiest machines ever flown pushing the boundaries of aerospace design and technology
18:53what started as a sketch on a napkin has lifted aviation to new heights and when this titan takes
19:00off it truly is the impossible made possible the stu spahn funicular is a one-of-a-kind scenic ride
19:10in the
19:10swiss elps a unique vehicle unlike any other on the planet whizzing passengers up the steepest
19:17tracked incline in the world it's the world's record
19:23with jaw-dropping angles and breathtaking mountain views
19:31it's a marvel of gravity defying engineering
19:37a funicular is a cable operated train system that's designed to go up and down very steep hills
19:43and mountains located in central switzerland the funicular's job is to carry passengers from the
19:50valley town of schweiz up to the small mountain town of stus this one-of-a-kind climb of 744
19:57meters to
19:58the very top takes only seven minutes for a trendy steep the funicular is the best option the stu spahn
20:06ascends up the mountain in what seems like a near vertical incline a 110 gradient that gradient is so
20:14steep that if you tried to drive a car up this it would topple pulling the two carriages of the
20:22funicular
20:22up and down the dizzying mountain heights takes a mighty engine to handle the heavy load that's the
20:28main drive it's an electric engine this one has thousand kilowatt power and we have two of them that
20:36we can drive at the same time we need a lot of power because of the steepest from the funicular
20:43each motor produces enough energy to simultaneously operate 250 escalators
20:49and these motors do it all electrically the advantage of having an electric engine
20:54is it has a smaller footprint than a large diesel engine it also means greater efficiency it's more
21:02reliable and obviously it's cleaner energy so they're cutting down on emissions a lot of people think that
21:07because electric engines are small and quiet they don't have a lot of power but don't be fooled they
21:13pack a ton of energy and a ton of force relative to their size especially compared to internal combustion
21:18engines the motor's power enables to move from above to 1500 passengers per hour in each direction
21:24a steep climb demands more power this tourist attraction packs a major attraction
21:30we are looking at two track wheels and the main rope the main rope is fixed on both sides
21:38from each train the cable is around three and a half kilometers long it attached the two trains that
21:48we can move both at the same time the large cable goes from one train up the mountain and around
21:54a pulley
21:55system attached to a huge wheel and then back down to the other train that means that as one goes
22:01up the slope
22:01the other one goes down basically each train acts as a counterweight for the other the descending car's
22:08weight helps pull the other one up the mountain and it's all assisted by the electric motors
22:17this vanicular travels a path so steep it needs a special kind of passenger compartment
22:24each car adjusts according to the change in pitch even when the ascent is almost vertical passengers feel
22:31grounded we have a hydraulic system that ensures that we're always level each cabin gets balanced out
22:39separately we have to rotate the cabin because we want to have the level when we walk in otherwise we
22:48all fell on one side having the ability to handle such a sheer climb while keeping the funicular's
22:54passengers upright is only possible because of its innovative hydraulics each cabin is equipped with two
23:02hydraulic cylinders as the funicular travels along the track the cylinders respond to the steep gradient of the
23:09terrain they adjust simultaneously leveling the cabins within the frame the hydraulics ensure that
23:16whether you are going up or down the track the cabin and its passengers stay level at all times
23:24a level cabin is a big departure from traditional funiculars which use fixed cars that make boarding more
23:31difficult on slope platforms on the stew spawn you can get in without any barriers so it's more accessible
23:39when it comes to mountains getting up the hill is all part of the fun but controlling the descent
23:46it is paramount breaks are the most important thing uh because when you have something that's uh wrong or it's
23:56broken the funicular has to stop and this is our chance to stop it
24:02if you're traveling vertical up the side of the mountain the brakes better do their job and when it
24:09comes to breaks redundancy is the name of the game you want as many fail safes in place as possible
24:16which
24:17is why this two spawn is equipped with multiple breaks we have here the safety brakes two on this side
24:24two on the other side it's like the last chance that we can stop the funicular we need four of
24:30them because
24:31on the steepest point we have to be sure that we can always stop the ride
24:42one incredible thing about the stew spa is that its regenerative braking system captures energy
24:47and converts it into heat that heat is then used by the rooms in the hotel at the top of
24:53the mountain
24:53the stew spawn is an essential means of transit but it's not the first funicular to travel up this mountain
25:00the tiny village of stews started as a settlement for agriculture and farming but it gained popularity
25:06in the early 1930s as a popular skiing site but since stews is a car free village it was very
25:12difficult
25:12to actually get to so in 1933 the first funicular opened connecting stews to the town further
25:17down the mountain it was revolutionary for its era the only funicular in the world to feature fully
25:25aluminum carriages in 1933 that was cutting edge technology since most early funiculars used box
25:32cars made out of wood the original schweets schuss funicular had fixed cabins it operated for 84 years
25:39but as technology reached new heights what was cutting edge became obsolete for its time the original
25:47funicular did an admirable job but like many pieces of machinery it's out with the old in with the
25:53new innovation is key construction of the modern funicular began in 2013 to build the steepest funicular
26:02in the world was a monumental task there was a lot of challenges in the construction for example drill heads
26:09would get stuck in the hard rock they had to use a custom design machine that laid prefabricated concrete
26:16tracks while moving uphill the funicular's opening was two years later than initially scheduled and took
26:23four years in total to complete by the time the project was finished in 2017 it ended up costing 54
26:29million euros
26:34the new funicular means that a larger number of passengers get to enjoy this incredible ride
26:40over 500 000 people travel on the stu spawn every year but it isn't just a tourist attraction the funicular
26:48is a
26:48lifeline for the alpine locals it's the fastest and easiest means of travel between schweets below
26:54and stu's above and vice versa the village is pretty remote there's only one road to go up to the
27:01village of
27:02stu's people who live up here they're dependent on the particular otherwise a lot of people who live up
27:07in a village they can't get home and the stu spawn moves more than just people it serves as the
27:17delivery
27:17service for everything the village depends upon the funicular is designed to transport all kinds of
27:22cargo and materials up the mountain things like concrete sand or stones but then also food beverages
27:29luggage anything that people need has to get carried up the mountain
27:36the funicular is used for transporting the material that gets brought up
27:42if someone wants to build a house or something like that then all the building materials gets
27:47transported up with the funicular the funicular can carry 136 people and up to one ton of freight each
27:56journey without passengers the funicular can transport up to six tons of material on its freight platform
28:06that's enough tonnage to build the framework of a small house without it people would have a problem
28:13it would take around two or three hours to hike up the mountain but it's a really steep hike and
28:18not really
28:19comfortable one and if you have a lot of material yeah it's going to be difficult the stu's funicular
28:27operates through every season and this being switzerland it of course runs like clockwork
28:32they operate regardless of the weather it doesn't matter how much it snows how much it wins
28:40the stu's bond is a technological marvel a smooth and seamless seven-minute climb into the clouds
28:48spectacular and the engineering is fantastic and amazing this machine is a triumph of human ingenuity
28:55and problem solving mounting 110 degree incline has pushed the boundaries of funicular design
29:02whether you live in schweiz or stu's or you're just visiting this futuristic funicular is like nothing else in the
29:10world
29:15at the top of mount graham more than 3 000 meters up there's a mechanical marvel
29:25eight stories high and 13 times heavier than a house a pair of specialized eyes that see deep into the
29:34heavens
29:36capturing light that has traveled billions of years to reach us this is the large binocular telescope
29:46the lbt
29:50the reason the large binocular telescope was placed at the top of mount graham
29:55in southeastern arizona was to take advantage of its high elevation dry climate and lack of
30:01light pollution these are all essential for maximizing the performance of the telescope
30:08lbt is the only one binocular telescope in the world it is unique because it allows with optics
30:15to observe the same part of the sky with the double the resolution we study everything from nearby stars
30:23newly forming planets around those stars to some of the most distant objects in the universe the optical
30:30technology in the lbt is so incredible that it produces images up to 10 times sharper than the hobble
30:37space telescope with its 360 degree view the lbt has made numerous discoveries and revealed the nature of
30:46the hercules dwarf galaxy a companion to the milky way
30:51and it also provides images of planets from outside our solar system known as exoplanets that are more than
30:58127 light years away from earth the telescope is important and powerful because we can take images
31:08very similar to the ones you only could get when you go very close to the planet with the spacecraft
31:17recording never before seen images of galaxies and stars is the strength of the lbt but none of that is
31:25possible if the telescope doesn't have the ability to move quickly and efficiently the lbt can be configured
31:34in 20 minutes or less with the help of four powerful motors we're standing about 30 feet away from the
31:42telescope those silver c-rings there are what the telescope slides on to be able to point down all the
31:49way to horizon or and then all the way up right now pointing straight up into the sky a few
31:53molecules
31:54stick of oil is going to support the 650 tons of that telescope the lbt uses high pressure oil
32:01bearings to essentially float the massive structure holding the primary mirrors the oil evenly distributes
32:07their colossal weight ensuring smoother movement and eliminating any friction that could jeopardize the
32:13telescope's image capturing capability two small motors on each side are going to drive those gears and
32:19bring that telescope down to where it's pointing straight out the front of the enclosure so what
32:24you're going to see is 650 tons of steel and glass and electronics and instruments in motion while the
32:32telescope moves to track the skies the enormous 1800 ton structure surrounding the telescope is also moving
32:41because the building and the telescope move independently they have to stay in sync so the
32:46telescope operator operates the telescope and the building basically follows the telescope to stay
32:51in sync so that the openings in the building are where the telescope is pointing both the telescope and
32:58the supporting structure match each other's movement in a perfectly synchronized ballet of motion the telescope
33:05rotates on an inner rail while the building itself rotates on an outer rail no wobbles jittering or lag it's
33:14all
33:14perfectly smooth so the lbt can seamlessly capture the perfect images
33:24the fortress of the lbt sits on the bogey level this is where you find all the wheels that support
33:30its rotating housing we're here on the top of the concrete here that supports this 2 000 ton enclosure above
33:37us that wraps around the telescope and behind me this is the bogey one of four that allows that building
33:43to move
33:46that's an enormous ask for these wheels they are attached to a singular frame but the weight
33:52they have to bear is staggering with each of the 20 wheels supporting 91 tons
33:59the reason it's moving is because the telescope is being pointed to a certain direction and the building
34:04is going to follow the telescope so the bogey drives are keeping the building aligned with the view of
34:09the telescope the components that make the lbt scientifically invaluable are the two eight and a
34:17half meter diameter mirrors mounted side by side at its base this telescope has the largest mirrors in
34:24existence telescope performance is a function of its size primarily because a larger lens or mirror collects
34:32more light and provides higher resolution so a bigger lens allows astronomers to see fainter and more
34:39distant objects and produce sharper and more detailed images together the resolution of these two mirrors is
34:46greater than that of the telescope twice their size
34:52the twin mirrors of the lbt were cast at the university of arizona in 1997 and 2000.
34:58molten glass was spun in a huge oven forming a natural bowl-shaped curve while also creating a
35:05honeycomb structure inside for strength and reduced weight this made the mirrors more thermally stable
35:12than solid glass these high precision mirrors are the key to the entire operation they allow the large
35:19binocular telescope to pinpoint specific locations that scientists want to learn more about then collect and
35:25focus the light they pull in from outer space to create the stunning images that the lbt is known for
35:33the balancing system of the lbt helps it remain fixed on one spot in space as the light from the
35:40stars passes through the atmosphere turbulence in the air distorts and blurs the light adaptive optics
35:47corrects for the blurring using secondary mirrors with magnets on their back that change the mirror's
35:52shape more than one thousand times per second the corrected light is deflected towards the center of
35:59the telescope where it's combined and captured as high resolution images by the camera the secondary
36:05mirrors are actually remarkable because they can reverse the distortion it's very similar to noise
36:11canceling headphones and sound waves this is the first implementation of this technology
36:16at any telescope in the world that allows us to make incredible measurements that rival what you can
36:22do from space the mirrors can read the chemical fingerprints or the unique patterns of stars planets
36:28galaxies and even black holes turning a faint glimmer of light into a clear window to the universe
36:38every time the observatory dome opens to let the telescope scan the skies the primary mirrors are exposed
36:46to the elements the primary mirror is very fragile it's it's all glass and it takes about three years
36:55to produce another mirror if something happens to this one the amount of time that we would lose if
37:01something happened it would be extremely expensive with the universe's secrets at stake these oversized peepers
37:11need to be cleaned and refreshed regularly and that requires an incredibly specialized machine
37:19enter the belt jar a nine meter in diameter vacuum chamber that is used to resurface the mirrors
37:27every year one of the two primary mirrors gets a facelift where the bell jar applies a fresh reflective coating
37:35of aluminum
37:36with most telescopes their mirror would be cleaned in a lab but with the lbt its mirrors stay on the
37:42telescope
37:44this eliminates the massive undertaking of bringing them down the mountain in order to carry out this process
37:50the cleaning phase is the first step for resurfacing the mirrors all the aluminum is chemically stripped away
37:58then the 23-ton bell jar is hoisted up by a crane it's carefully put in place on top of
38:05the mirror
38:06creating a pressurized seal to begin the process so what you're doing is you're creating a vacuum chamber
38:13between this structure the bell jar and the primary mirror of the large binocular telescope
38:19these are vacuum pumps and their controllers to pull the vacuum and it pulls all the air and the moisture
38:25out of the bell jar getting a good vacuum is critical to a good re-coat once the vacuum seal
38:32is complete
38:33a small quantity of aluminum is vaporized and falls in a layer across the mirror this aluminum is what gives
38:40the mirrors their
38:40highly reflective capabilities
38:45in order to work at their optimum capacity the instruments of the lbt have to be kept at a
38:51temperature of minus 196 degrees celsius if they were to overheat the images taken by the telescope
39:00would have digital noise or distortion making them useless so liquid nitrogen is used to keep things chilly
39:10liquid nitrogen is a perfect coolant for sensitive instruments due to its low temperature and its
39:16ability to absorb large amounts of heat this makes it ideal for users in medicine science and electronics
39:23where precision and stability are critical this is what cools the instruments on the telescope every
39:32morning and every afternoon we have to transfer out of these to the instruments that are up on the
39:39telescope with an instrument it creates heat from the electronics and it distorts the pictures if they
39:47see a heat trace so we must cool them all down a heat trace appears as an increase in thermal
39:55noise or
39:56static in the detector which can overwhelm the signal from faint sources in the sky
40:03the lbt isn't just cold it's the coolest set of astronomical binoculars on earth but building them
40:11was a huge undertaking the steel skeleton of the telescope took shape in italy in 2002
40:19and the massive structure was shipped across the ocean and up the mountain to be assembled
40:24the enormous mirrors were created in arizona but they too had to be transported up the mountain
40:30the last stretch of which is a very winding route in 2008 the lbt was finally put to work
40:39ogling the universe with both eyes open to record the incredible images that have made it famous in the science
40:46community
40:46this is an international project the telescope is a collaboration between the scientific institutions
40:53from the usa italy and germany italian scientists have made the lbt even more powerful by adding a
41:03system of instruments called the shark the shark is made up of sophisticated optical instruments that
41:09increase the visual capacity of the telescope and produced incredibly high resolution images
41:15the shark is optimized to capture not only visible light but also near infrared light near infrared light
41:21has wavelengths just beyond the red end of the visible spectrum making it invisible to the human eye so
41:28these instruments are highly sensitive it gives us the most magnification in the world astronomy sharp collects
41:37the light through the telescope by means of this two mirrors that sends the lights inside the instrument
41:44we look at the brightness at every specific color which contains a huge amount of information about
41:50these objects we can see sometimes billions of light years away this is the most important
41:55instrument because it exploits the potential of the telescope and gives us the maximum magnification we
42:02can achieve with the larger binocular telescope it also can record very fine object close to bright sources
42:10for example we can see a fly flying around a street lamp from 400 kilometers far away
42:24in humanity's eternal quest to understand our place in the cosmos few machines have proven mightier than the large binocular
42:32telescope
42:33this telescope is a time machine it takes light to travel from those objects out in space to reach us
42:40as we
42:41look to more and more distant objects we're looking further and further back in time we can look back through
42:4590
42:46percent of the history of the universe with this telescope this set of eyes captures the past present and future
42:55of our universe
42:56every day the lbt reminds us that earth's mightiest machines aren't only built to conquer land sea or sky but
43:05to stretch our vision across time itself
43:16we're not able to do it
43:16we're looking for you
43:16absolutely
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