01x26 - What's a Satellite / Satellite Selfie

[bunniefuu]

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ That's his name ♪

♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ He'll rocket to fame ♪

♪ When he arrived, he created a buzz ♪

♪ 'Cause there was no house ♪

♪ And then there was, he said ♪

- ♪ People of Earth! You ain't seen nothing yet! ♪

♪ I'm from Bortron , and my name is Jet! ♪

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

♪ That's his name ♪

♪ He looks like us ♪

♪ But he isn't the same ♪

- ♪ I'm a space tripper and a galaxy crosser ♪

♪ My parents brought me here in a flying saucer ♪

- ♪ And just to prove it was a fact ♪

♪ He flew them out to space and back ♪

♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[spaceship whirring]

- ♪ Jet Propulsion ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ He showed up, and now it's a blast ♪

♪ Looks like the future really got here fast ♪

- ♪ Nice to meet you, human race ♪

♪ Tell me all about the place ♪

- Jet Propulsion!

- Jet Propulsion!

- Jet Propulsion!

all: Ready! Jet! Go!

- ♪ Commander Cressida ♪

♪ She is the best of the ♪

♪ Galactic astronauts ♪

- [laughs]

You sure love Commander Cressida, Sydney.

- Yup.

And I'm just so excited.

Tonight, there's a really important episode.

It's the thrilling conclusion of a two-part cliff-hanger.

[laughs] That's how they said it on TV.

It really is an important episode.

- Yes! Go, guys! Push forward! Kick it, come on!

- What's Mr. Petersen yelling about?

- He's a big soccer fan.

He must be watching a game.

- Huh, sounds like his game is

a thrilling cliff-er-hanger-on-er-er too!

- [cheering] Uh--what?

Oh, no!

My TV signal's gone,

right in the middle of the final!

- Final what, Mr. Petersen?

- Well, for once my soccer team has made it

all the way to the championship final.

This is their biggest day ever.

And now the TV signal goes out?

I blame that old satellite we got up there!

- Uh, that old what, Mr. Petersen?

- A satellite. That's how we get

our TV programs in Boxwood Terrace, Propulsion.

Or don't get them, in this case.

- Really? I thought we just

turned on our TVs, and the shows were there.

- Well, I guess the TV signals have to come from somewhere.

- Apparently, they come from satellites.

Who knew? - None of us, anyway.

- Well, I know.

A satellite is an object that humans put into orbit

around the Earth.

- Really? How do they stay in orbit?

- They orbit at tremendous speed.

That's what keeps them from falling to Earth.

For some satellites, much of their size

is taken up by solar panels.

- So they're powered by the sun?

- Correct, Sydney.

- But what does that have to do

with bringing us our TV shows?

- Satellites receive information,

like your favorite TV show, Sydney,

from transmitters on Earth,

and beam it back down to receivers

elsewhere on the planet.

kids: Cool!

- To understand how this works,

you can think of the transmitter as a mouth,

and the receiver as an ear.

And that's only one way we use satellites.

They also monitor weather, maps,

and navigational systems.

Ciao for now. [static]

- Wow. Turns out that if you like TV,

or movies, or music, or radio,

or pretty much any kinda show,

satellites are really important.

- [laughs] Yeah.

All of us have our favorite shows.

[gasp] Oh, no!

If the satellite is having trouble

delivering Mr. Petersen's soccer game,

maybe it's gonna have trouble delivering

my Commander Cressida episode!

- You're right, Sydney.

And it's the thrilling conclusion

of the two-part cliff-er-hanger-on-er-er!

- I know!

- Come on, you guys.

Maybe not every TV is affected.

Maybe it's only at the Petersen house.

- Let's go find out!

We'll do a house-to-house search,

starting at my house!

Excelsior!

- Now stir the egg whites

until they are frothy enough to stand up.

- Oh! Hi, kids!

Wow, I can't believe how complicated

these Earth cooking instructions are.

Not like on my favorite cooking show back home,

"Bortron Chef."

[clang]

- [slurps]

- What are you making? - Oh, it's called a sufle,

or soufflé, whatever that is.

What she's making looks good, though.

[static crackles]

- We are experiencing technical difficulties.

- [gasps] Face, what happened to

my Earth cooking show?

- Mm. The satellite is

not working correctly.

- At least you're working correctly.

Uh, can you show me how to make a soufflé?

- Hmm...Well, how much have you completed?

- Uh, I've beaten the egg whites,

and then I'm apparently supposed to stand them up--

[stammers] Oh, or was it stand on them?

- Maybe stand them up.

[booming]

Ooh...

Maybe you should've stood on them.

- Oh, well. It's a delicious failure.

I'll keep trying. It'll keep me busy

while I wait for my Earth TV cooking show

to come back. - Good idea, Carrot.

I like your attitude. Ta-ta!

- Oh, this is bad.

If both Mr. Petersen and Mr. Propulsion's TV shows

are interrupted, then maybe my Commander Cressida episode

will be too!

- Yeah, it's not looking so good, Sydney.

- Oh, and it starts in less than an hour!

What if I miss my show?

Let's go check. Come on!

- [squeaks]

- Ah! Still no TV reception!

And there's not much time left!

And the game is tied!

[screams]

- Just like your Commander Cressida episode, Sydney.

There's not much time!

It's coming on in less than an hour.

- [chirping]

- Or not on,

'cause the satellite isn't working.

- Wow. Then everybody who has a TV

is out of luck.

- Um, let's--let's be calm.

Let's not jump to conclusions, Sean.

Maybe my TV is still getting reception.

- [chirping]

- Hey! Sunspot says maybe we could

fly up to the satellite in the saucer, and fix it!

And I could help!

[dramatic music]

I am pretty handy with tools.

- What? You and Sunspot?

Fix the satellite? - [chittering]

- Sure we can fix it!

And who knows, - [beeping]

- Sunspot says with some modifications,

we can all get some Bortronian channels too!

- [barks]

- We have wonderful cooking shows.

"Bortron Chef" is our number one show.

- Uh, Jet, I don't think that's really necessary.

I mean, they don't send astronauts

up to fix the satellite every time something goes wrong.

- What do they do then?

- My mom says that when something goes wrong

with the satellite, they have ways

to fix the problem from Earth.

It just takes time.

- But that's just it, Sean.

We don't have time!

Sydney's show starts in less than an Earth hour!

- Okay, let's be calm and think about this.

Jet fixing a satellite?

And bringing Bortronian TV shows

to everyone in Boxwood Terrace? [sighs]

That doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

It might cause more problems than it solves.

Let's leave the satellite alone.

[static crackles]

Wha? Okay, now it's personal!

Let's go into space, and fix that satellite!

- Really? We're going to outer space?

- Yes! It's what Commander Cressida would do.

"A kid's place is exploring space!"

- [moans]

[horn honks]

- Did someone say, "fix a satellite?"

Hop in, kids! I'll have you up in space

in an Earth minute.

- [sighs]

We could just wait for the scientists

to fix the satellite from Earth.

Or...We could all just jump in a flying saucer--

- ♪ Five, four, three, two, one ♪

♪ Doors are shut! Engines on ♪

♪ Everybody in their place? ♪

♪ Let's go into outer space ♪

[together] Ready! Jet! Go!

- <span> [screaming]

[jet engines whooshing]

[adventurous music]

- Okay, let's find that satellite.

- But there's hundreds of them.

How are we gonna find our satellite?

- Um, maybe it's the one right over Boxwood Terrace.

- You're right, Sydney! There it is.

all: Whoa!

- Look at those huge solar panels!

- Face, what does it look like inside?

- Here you go, Jet.

And there is where the problem is.

A chip has burned out.

- [chirping] - Oh.

Sunspot says if we can replace that chip,

it'll be good as new!

- Then let's do it!

Time's a-wasting.

- [chirping] - Ah! Perfect!

[together] What's that?

- It's a Bortronian TV chip.

It'll make the satellite work again,

so you get all your earthy TV shows.

Plus, you might get some TV shows from Bortron .

- Wow, cool! Uh--uh, wait, wait.

TV shows from Bortron ?

Not a good idea, Jet.

We need Earth shows, like Commander Cressida!

- Heh. Don't worry. I can hook it up

so it only plays shows from Earth.

Easy-peasy. - [chirps]

- So all we have to do is float out there on a tether,

open the satellite up, remove the bad chip,

and install this nifty Bortronian one.

No problemo! Right, Sunspot?

- [chirps] - Excelsior!

[tether buzzing]

[food crunching]

- Ugh! Unbelievable.

Of all the days--I can't believe...

[grumbling]

- [humming]

♪ <span> Where is my cooking show? ♪

[television bleeping]

[gasps excitedly]

[satellite creaks open]

- Huh... Uh, Face?

Can we have another look at that schematic?

- Okie-dokie.

[dramatic strings]

[gadgets buzzing]

[upbeat music]

[crowd roaring]

- What? Oh! Hooray!

[laughs] It's back!

- Mmm... Now you'll need to whelp the flergs carefully...

- Wait. Whelp?

What in the what? Oh, come on!

- Using a medium-sized whelp.

- Whelp? Hey!

It's my favorite Bortronian cooking show!

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Well, these Earth eggs aren't exactly flergs.

But I'll improvise!

- Whelping the flergs until they get the consis--

- Oops! Wrong wire, Jet.

[static warbling]

- Now you take the egg whites and do-hoo whip--

- Flergs until they get the consistency of--

- Of napkins, and get them ready now

for a quick little--

- Flerping, followed by a brief scalding

with a blue torch. - [laughs]

Earth cooking, Bortronian cooking.

Ah, it's all pretty much the same...

Except where it's different.

Well, it may not be the sufle, or--or the soufflé

I started with, but it looks like it's gonna be delicious!

[static]

- Goal!

- Goal!

Yeah! [cheerfully laughing]

all: [cheering]

[tether buzzing]

- [whistles]

- Well done, Jet and Sunspot!

Okay. Let's go, go, go!

- Right. Let's get Sydney back to Earth

for the thrilling conclusion

to her two-part cliff-er-hanger-on-er-er!

- Yes! Let's do it!

♪ Commander Cressida ♪

♪ She is the best of the ♪

♪ Galactic astronauts ♪

♪ There's nothing she cannot ♪

[dramatic music]

all: Cool! Yeah!

- Come on, you guys! Time's a-wasting!

[together] ♪ Fearless and curious ♪

♪ With her space dog, Sirius ♪

♪ Always in the chase ♪

♪ They'll surely win the race ♪

♪ 'Cause a kid's place is exploring space ♪

- Yeah! [giggles]

- Goal! Ah!

- I really wanna go into space.

And do you think it'll work if I just jump?

- Uh, you're gonna have to jump a lot harder than that, I think.

- Ah, bummer! - [laughs]

- Hi, I'm astronomer Amy Mainzer.

And I'm here with Sandy Simmons at SpaceX.

And Sandy, why can't I just jump to get in space?

- Earth is very large, and it has a lot of mass,

so we have very strong gravity

that holds us to the surface of the Earth.

So you can't just jump.

- I guess the Earth is really big,

and that does mean it has a lot of stuff.

- Exactly. - Which means a lot of gravity.

- Mm-hmm. If you wanna get up into space,

I would recommend using a rocket.

- Rockets are how we get into space,

and we've been using them for a long time.

Rocket fuel is ignited, which makes it burn.

The heat and the flames push down,

and the rocket goes up.

How big of a rocket would I need

if I wanted to get something the size of, say, me into space?

- Even for something of very small size, uh,

we would actually need to send up tens of thousands

of gallons of fuel to launch someone

up into orbit into space.

- The fuel's heavy too, isn't it?

- Exactly. - If we have to burn fuel

to get stuff up into space,

and the fuel's heavy, that means we have to add more fuel, right?

- Yep. Essentially, we just bring

a lot of fuel with us. both: [laughing]

- I guess it gets a little easier as we go, right?

Because as we go up and we burn fuel,

the rocket gets lighter, right? - Exactly.

- It gets a lot lighter as you go up.

Unfortunately, we have to bring all of it with us

at the beginning, because there's no gas stations

on the way to space. - There's a lot of fuel, though.

Wow. - Exactly.

- So the next time you're jumping up and down,

trying to launch yourself into space,

you might wanna consider using a rock.

Sandy, do you think you could help me with that?

- Sure! Why not? - Okay, let's go!

[eerie piano music]

- [humming]

So what do you think of my new Bortron bites?

I invented the recipe myself.

- I'm good, thanks.

- Come on! Taste one!

all: [crunching] - Hmm, not bad!

I was a little worried after your

sauerkraut space bars last week.

- Yeah, these are much better.

How did you make them?

- Mindy, sometimes it's better

not to ask certain questions.

- It was easy!

First I took some peanut butter,

and then some chocolate--

Oh, yeah. Except instead of chocolate,

I used some shredded rutabaga.

[all gagging, exclaiming]

- And instead of peanut butter, I used a full cup

of minced garlic. - Bleh.

[groaning] More water.

- [gags] Jet, where in the world

did you get the idea to put garlic and rutabaga

into a cookie?

- Hey, someone had to be the first to try it.

- I think we need some help. [rings]

- Did someone ring the emergency button?

Here I am! - That was me.

I think we need to order an emergency pizza,

to get the taste of these cookies out of our mouths.

- Emergency pizza?

Did my system correctly detect an attempt at Earth humor?

- Um... [chimes jingle]

Yes! - Excellent!

I am programmed to laugh encouragingly.

Ha ha! Ha ha ha, Mindy!

Ha ha. Now, let me show you

how to find a pizza delivery near your location.

- Cool! Do you have a map of our area?

- Better than that. Take a look.

There you are.

- Uh, where are we exactly?

- Hmm, I thought you would recognize this planet.

- Yes, we can see that it's Earth.

- Very good! That was the answer.

- But we might need to narrow it down a bit more

to find a pizza place in our neighborhood.

- [chirps]

- Huh, we should be able to zoom in on Face's map.

Maybe if we enlarge this area?

- [laughs hysterically]

Oh! Stop! Really! [continues laughing]

- Face, do you think you might be ticklish?

- Ha, of course not.

I am a computer. Computers are not ticklish.

That's not logical-- [laughs hysterically]

Oh, forget logic! [continues laughing]

Use the remote, please! - [laughs]

Okay, okay! [clicks]

Better? - Ah, much better.

Now, where were we?

[chirping]

- Right, emergency pizza. Zooming in.

- I know what that is. It's North America.

That's where we live!

- Zooming again. - Hey! I see Boxwood Terrace!

- Wait... I think I see my house.

That is my house!

My house is on Face's screen!

I'm famous! - [squeals]

- Why yes, Mindy. Your fame is undeniable.

And your house is part of the map.

- But how? How is there a picture

of my house on your map?

- Wait, don't tell us.

Let us try to figure it out.

- All right, very good.

But let me give you a clue with another question.

Where do photographs come from?

- Cameras! [camera shutter clicks]

- So picture of our street are taken,

and they get put on your map?

- Exactamundo!

Images, or pictures of your house

and other houses on the street get sent to my map

from cameras at remote locations.

- Hmm, so there must be cameras outside somewhere

taking pictures of our neighborhood.

- Huh, but where are these cameras?

- Maybe there are cameras high up on the streetlights.

I never noticed. - Hey.

If my house is on the map...

Then I can be on the map too!

We all can! Come on!

We just have to wave to the cameras.

- [chirps]

- Oh, right. Pizza.

But first we have to find the cameras.

- Okay, you go outside and wave,

and I'll tell you if I can see you on the computer screen.

- Ah, come on, Sunspot.

Take those off.

You're not that famous.

[drum roll]

Sunspot... [chuckles]

- Okay, everyone...

smile and wave.

- Huh, that should do it!

- I don't see you guys.

- Here, let's try to make a bigger pattern.

- [sighs] She must see us now.

Let's go ask her!

- Did you see us? - Nope, nothing.

- That's strange.

Maybe the cameras didn't go off.

- Which brings us back to our problem.

Where are the cameras?

- Wait, something else is going on here.

Face, can you zoom in even more?

- Why, certainly.

- I think something's missing here.

Look at the map again. - Hmm.

What are we not seeing?

- I see your house, Sean.

- Yup, there it is!

And there's yours, Sydney!

- That's great, guys. Where's my house?

I can't seem to find it.

- There's my house, and Sean's,

and Sydney's, and even Mitchell's.

- But not my house!

There's an empty space there!

- Wait a minute. That's Mr. Petersen's old car.

- And that's the old pink color of our house.

This picture's over a year old!

We've painted since then.

- Jet's house would've been right there.

- Except Jet's house just got here last summer.

Remember how it was just a vacant lot,

and then it landed there?

all: Oh, yeah! I remember!

[upbeat funky music]

♪ ♪

- So then these pictures have to be over a year old,

from before Jet's house was part of our neighborhood!

- That explains it! Now we just have to figure out

where these pictures are coming from,

and why they're old!

- What's wrong, Mindy? - I want your house

to be part of the neighborhood in the pictures.

- Aw! - I know!

Why don't we go take a picture of Jet's house,

and then we can add it in!

- How will we get it onto Face's screen?

- We can print out the pictures from Face's screen

and hang them up! Then we add Jet's house.

It'll be just like it was always there.

- Come out, everybody! I'm taking a picture!

[drum roll] - Will you just take a picture

with everyone else like a normal pet?

- [beeps] - Thank you.

- Okay, everybody, I'll count to three.

One, two, three!

[camera clicks]

- I'm pretty sure I was blinking.

- Mm, let's try this again.

[scanner whirring]

- Look! I hung up the pictures of all the houses!

Jet's house should go...here.

- Go ahead, Mindy, you can hang it!

- Okay! [straining]

- [whistles]

- Thanks, Sunspot! - [barks]

- What are you looking at, Sydney?

- Hmm, Jet's house looks like

it's taken from a much lower perspective

than these other houses.

- Yeah, you can see the tops of the other houses!

Where was the camera for those pictures?

- We're going to have to get the camera higher to match.

Maybe Sunspot can boost me up?

- Or maybe we can boost Sunspot up!

- [chirping]

- Okay, Sunspot!

Ready for launch? - [shrieking]

all: Yes! - Here we go!

Remember to make sure none of us our blinking, Sunspot!

- [chirps] [rumbling]

- Look out, everyone!

- [anxious chirping]

[chittering]

[engine sputtering]

- I'm not sure that's any higher than we were before.

[crashes] - [chirps]

[engine whooshes]

[chirps]

[engine whooshes]

[whimpers]

[dramatic string music]

[engine whooshing]

♪ ♪

[clang]

[engine puttering]

[chair screeches]

[chirps]

- Huh?

all: Huh? [moaning]

- Good news! At least I'm not blinking in this one.

- But we still haven't figured out how

the camera got so high up.

Even the rocket chair doesn't help.

- [chirps] - Not now, Sunspot.

- Okay, guys, I think there's only one way

we're going to find out about where the cameras are.

We've got to ask Face again.

- Gah, why didn't we think of that?

- I guess you're just not me.

- What? Are you all giving up?

- Uh! No! We're not giving up.

We can figure this out!

- Yes, Sydney! I admire your persistence.

I can give you another clue.

Get Sean's mom, Dr. Rafferty, to give you a demonstration!

Hint: It's something she knows a lot about.

- Yeah! Why didn't I think of that in the first place?

- I guess you're just not me.

- [laughs]

- Satellites!

- So it's as simple as satellites?

- Yes, that's right.

Any questions? - Just one.

Would you please describe a satellite again?

- Satellites are objects we launch from Earth into space,

and they orbit or circle the Earth.

Many of them have cameras in them.

- Are all the cameras taking pictures of Earth?

- Some satellites look up at space,

and some look down on Earth,

so we can have accurate map information.

- So satellites can be taking pictures

of our house at any time.

- That's why I have to remember never to blink.

- [chuckles] Well, maybe not never.

- So how do we know when it's gonna take a picture of us?

- Well, let's see.

When is the satellite coming by again to take a picture?

I'll--I'll look at this chart and--

Aha! What do you know! It's on its way,

and it should be here in-- [gasps]

just about an hour!

all: An hour? - Thanks, mom!

Gotta run. Picture time.

- Thank you, Dr. Rafferty! - Bye, Mom!

[all shouting at once]

- Okay! Comb your hair!

- It should be just another minute now.

Everyone set? - Yup!

- You bet! - I'm not going to blink.

I'm not gonna blink.

- Get ready, it's coming.

Five, four, three, two, one! - [sneezes]

Oh, no! I blinked!

Do you think we missed it?

- No, we got it.

Jet's house fits in perfectly!

[car honks] - What's that?

- Boxwood pizza!

- [chirps]

all: [cheering] - Yeah--

all: [laughing]

all: Sunspot! - [chirps]

- Everybody loves having birthdays,

but have you ever wondered why you can only have

a birthday once a year?

Hi, I'm astronomer Amy Mainzer.

The reason we only have birthdays once a year is because

that's how long it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun.

We call the motion of a planet around its Sun its orbit.

The length of a planet's year is determined by

how fast it goes around the Sun.

And that depends on how close it is to the Sun.

Planets that are close to the Sun take less time

to go around then planets that are really far away.

For example, it only takes Mercury days

to go around the Sun.

That's because Mercury's a lot closer to the Sun

than the Earth is. If you were on Mercury,

you'd have a birthday every three months.

But if I were on Neptune, it takes Earth years

just to complete one orbit around the sun.

That's because Neptune is so incredibly far away.

That means that even the oldest person on Earth

is not even one-Neptune-year-old.

The Earth is traveling around the Sun

incredibly fast in its orbit.

It's going , miles an hour.

And at that incredible speed,

it takes the Earth twelve months,

or about days, to go around the Sun one time.

And one day, if you go to live on Mars,

its orbit is almost twice as long as Earth's.

So you would only have half as many birthdays on Mars.

So the next time you need a reason to have a party,

just tell everybody you're celebrating

your Mercury birthday,

and you need to have a party every three months.

- ♪ Commander Cressida ♪

♪ She is the best of the ♪

♪ Galactic astronauts ♪

♪ There's nothing she cannot ♪

♪ Commander Cressida ♪

♪ She's from the moons of Mars ♪

♪ Her boots are on the ground, her head is in the stars ♪

♪ Fearless and curious ♪

♪ With her space dog, Sirius ♪

♪ Always in the chase ♪

♪ They'll surely win the race ♪

♪ 'Cause a kid's place is exploring space ♪