0:00:02 > 0:00:03'From Mission Director's Center
0:00:03 > 0:00:06'at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08'this is Delta Launch control...'
0:00:08 > 0:00:13Inside that rocket, about to blast off into space, are six satellites.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16And they will join thousands of other satellites in orbit
0:00:16 > 0:00:17around our planet -
0:00:17 > 0:00:21part of the latest technology that we take completely for granted.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23But I want to change that.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I want to re-examine
0:00:25 > 0:00:29what these masterpieces of engineering are doing for us.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33My name is Maggie Aderin-Pocock
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and I'm mad about satellites.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38In fact, I help make them.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42For the last few years,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I've been working on the most ambitious satellite ever...
0:00:47 > 0:00:50..the James Webb Space Telescope.
0:00:51 > 0:00:55Now, I want to find out how these awe-inspiring machines
0:00:55 > 0:00:57have come to fill our skies.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Seeing how 50 years of satellite research
0:01:03 > 0:01:07has pushed at the boundaries of technology,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11and how this has transformed our world.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13'Five, four, three, two,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'main engine start, one, zero.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19'And lift off of the Delta 2
0:01:19 > 0:01:21'with the NPP satellite.'
0:01:23 > 0:01:25This is the story of how satellites
0:01:25 > 0:01:27have changed all aspects of our lives
0:01:27 > 0:01:31in ways that you can imagine, and many you can't!
0:01:59 > 0:02:04It's 6.30am - an average day
0:02:04 > 0:02:07in an average house.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12But while we sleep, how many of us know
0:02:12 > 0:02:15our lives rely on extraordinary machines...
0:02:17 > 0:02:22..keeping an eye on us from space?
0:02:24 > 0:02:27They influence time,
0:02:27 > 0:02:29tuning our clocks.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35As I settle down for breakfast,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37a satellite beams the signal
0:02:37 > 0:02:40to my television.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43At least three more make a live link
0:02:43 > 0:02:46to the other side of the world.
0:02:48 > 0:02:49And a further four
0:02:49 > 0:02:50allow the Met Office
0:02:50 > 0:02:52to forecast the British weather.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56These satellites aren't so surprising.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59You probably know about them already.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02But what about the hundreds you don't?
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Satellites that helped
0:03:04 > 0:03:05harvest the wheat
0:03:05 > 0:03:07for my husband's cereal,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10deliver his milk,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12or chose where to grow
0:03:12 > 0:03:14the coffee he's spilling.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Others manage our water,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21overseeing flood control,
0:03:21 > 0:03:22and surges of power
0:03:22 > 0:03:23in the National Grid.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Once in my car,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27everybody recognises a SAT NAV.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30But what about the fuel I use?
0:03:30 > 0:03:32My lottery ticket?
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Even the train I catch?
0:03:35 > 0:03:37All increasingly depend
0:03:37 > 0:03:39on satellites.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Trains, planes and automobiles,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45shipping, cereals and flooding.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48It's not even nine in the morning
0:03:48 > 0:03:52and already, I've used nearly 40 satellites.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56These are the satellites that have changed our lives.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00But what about those that are changing
0:04:00 > 0:04:04our understanding of the universe?
0:04:04 > 0:04:06This is a full-scale model
0:04:06 > 0:04:09of the James Webb Space Telescope.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11When the real thing is launched,
0:04:11 > 0:04:12around 2018, it'll be
0:04:12 > 0:04:13the largest and most powerful
0:04:13 > 0:04:15satellite telescope ever built.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17With it, we'll be able to see
0:04:17 > 0:04:19wider, deeper and more clearly
0:04:19 > 0:04:22into space than ever before.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24We may even be able to look back to
0:04:24 > 0:04:27the very birth of the universe.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38For several years, my job has been to work on the special cameras
0:04:38 > 0:04:42that will allow the James Webb to peer deep into the cosmos.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48By capturing images of stars 13 billion light years away,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50it'll look back in time,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55helping reveal how the universe itself was created.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57I believe the James Webb,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02and the countless satellites that dominate our day,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06are amongst the great scientific achievements of our age
0:05:06 > 0:05:11and sit at the cutting edge of technology.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13We're going to look at the breakthroughs
0:05:13 > 0:05:16that make this remarkable machine possible.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18What were the scientific challenges
0:05:18 > 0:05:20that were faced in the satellite revolution?
0:05:20 > 0:05:23And in the early days,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27there was one problem above all that space scientists wanted to solve -
0:05:27 > 0:05:30how do you get something - anything -
0:05:30 > 0:05:33to hover in space above the Earth?
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Well, a good place to answer that question is here, by this lake.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45A beautiful spot to try to launch my own satellite.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Three,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57two,
0:05:57 > 0:05:58one,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00fire!
0:06:04 > 0:06:07The force of gravity has, of course,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11pulled my wannabe satellite back to Earth.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14What goes up always comes down.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Or does it?
0:06:18 > 0:06:22As we all know, the Earth is round.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25And that means, as we travel over the surface,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28it gently curves away from us.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Now, if you can travel fast enough, something miraculous happens -
0:06:31 > 0:06:35we keep on falling, but we never hit the ground.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49Let's imagine that I can launch this orange at incredible speeds.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06It's something Sir Isaac Newton noticed 300 years ago -
0:07:06 > 0:07:09relative to something moving horizontally,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13the curve of the Earth makes the ground beneath drop away.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18If my orange - or anything else - can move fast enough,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23it can stay ahead of that curve and effectively outrun gravity.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26It'll never fall to Earth.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Because the curvature of the Earth is quite slight,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32you need to be travelling at around 8,000 metres per second
0:07:32 > 0:07:35to compensate for the pull of the Earth's gravity.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37If you can reach this speed,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40you're now travelling around the Earth, rather than down towards it.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45Not easy, of course, when there's air resistance to slow you down
0:07:45 > 0:07:47and obstacles to get in the way.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52But once you get above the mountains
0:07:52 > 0:07:53and most of the atmosphere -
0:07:53 > 0:07:55at, say, 300km up -
0:07:55 > 0:07:56you're now in space.
0:07:56 > 0:07:57And if you can keep your ball
0:07:57 > 0:07:59travelling fast enough,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02you can stay ahead of the curve -
0:08:02 > 0:08:03you're in orbit.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12Well, that's the theory.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19But it took 250 years after Newton's death
0:08:19 > 0:08:22before anyone built a machine powerful enough
0:08:22 > 0:08:23to put it into practice.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35In 1957, a Russian rocket carried the first man-made object
0:08:35 > 0:08:37into orbit above the Earth.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42No bigger than a beach ball, Sputnik stayed in orbit for three months.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48For the Soviet Union, it was a massive propaganda victory.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55And the beep of its tiny radio transmitter
0:08:55 > 0:08:59fired the starting gun for the Space Race.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I've always assumed that as Sputnik was dragged
0:09:02 > 0:09:04into a lower and lower orbit,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06it got hotter and hotter,
0:09:06 > 0:09:10due to the Earth's atmosphere, and was eventually completely burnt up.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14But surprisingly, a small piece of that epic space craft is kept here
0:09:14 > 0:09:18at the Smithsonian National Air And Space Museum.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31So I hear you have a bit of Sputnik actually here on site?
0:09:31 > 0:09:34We do, indeed. We have something that is called the firing pin,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38which is a relatively small object that is not really a firing pin,
0:09:38 > 0:09:39in any sense of the term -
0:09:39 > 0:09:41that implies you launch a rocket
0:09:41 > 0:09:44by turning a key or something.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46But what it really was
0:09:46 > 0:09:48was a small metal object
0:09:48 > 0:09:49that fit into
0:09:49 > 0:09:51the Sputnik space craft,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and when you were ready to start
0:09:53 > 0:09:55the system inside that was run by batteries,
0:09:55 > 0:09:58you'd pull this out and it would complete the circuit
0:09:58 > 0:10:01that would allow the power systems to start to operate.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03It's like a toy - sometimes, it has a plastic tag.
0:10:03 > 0:10:04Pull it out and the batteries start.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06That's essentially what it was.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10The firing pin is a tangible reminder
0:10:10 > 0:10:13of who won the race into space.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21It may be small, but to me, it's a priceless relic
0:10:21 > 0:10:25which, by making the connection between the battery and transmitter,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29unlocked the age of satellites.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35But it wasn't easy.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Desperate to catch up in the Space Race,
0:10:37 > 0:10:40it took the Americans years of rocket research...
0:10:46 > 0:10:48..and numerous false starts...
0:10:52 > 0:10:57..before finally, they successfully launched their first satellite -
0:10:57 > 0:10:58Explorer One.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03In 1959, Explorer 6 was the first satellite
0:11:03 > 0:11:07to take a picture of the Earth.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10It doesn't look like much,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14but it was enough to get one group of people very, very excited.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Spies!
0:11:18 > 0:11:20By the end of the 1950s,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22the Cold War was hotting up.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Satellites would allow Soviet and American spies to photograph
0:11:28 > 0:11:30each other from a perfect overhead viewpoint.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37The Americans quickly launched
0:11:37 > 0:11:40the world's first spy satellites -
0:11:40 > 0:11:43codenamed Corona.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51But now, the spies had to get their film back to Earth.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55And their solution was about as bonkers as you can imagine.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03They threw them back.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07This remarkable footage shows a canister
0:12:07 > 0:12:09carrying thousands of metres of used film
0:12:09 > 0:12:13being ejected from a Corona spy satellite
0:12:13 > 0:12:16200km above the Earth.
0:12:16 > 0:12:1918km up, its parachute opens.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Having spent countless millions launching spy satellites,
0:12:25 > 0:12:28the Americans now had to catch the results mid-air,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31before the Russians could reach them.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39This is 037,
0:12:39 > 0:12:41one of the planes that attempted
0:12:41 > 0:12:43those difficult, dangerous,
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and highly secret missions.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Bob Counts clocked 2,000 hours as 037's navigator.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56He had the almost impossible task
0:12:56 > 0:12:59of spotting the canister falling to Earth,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01then plucking it out of the sky
0:13:01 > 0:13:03somewhere over the Pacific.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09Bob, this is one of the aircraft
0:13:09 > 0:13:11that actually caught films from space.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Yes, it's not one of them, it is the very one.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17It's one of nine that we had,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19but it's the aircraft that caught the first one.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23So, what sort of range did the aircraft have?
0:13:23 > 0:13:28Its range was 2,000 miles, which was a little bit of a handicap
0:13:28 > 0:13:34because we had to operate way at the edge of its endurance
0:13:34 > 0:13:35on many of the missions.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Bob and his team were attempting the equivalent
0:13:43 > 0:13:46of finding a needle in a falling haystack.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50This declassified footage shows
0:13:50 > 0:13:53the crew of 037
0:13:53 > 0:13:55closing in on their target.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00First, the crew suspended a line between two poles
0:14:00 > 0:14:03hanging from the back of their plane.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05Dangling off it are grappling hooks.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09The aircraft would match
0:14:09 > 0:14:13its descent rate with the descent of the parachute
0:14:13 > 0:14:15and fly in right over the shoot,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19like five feet over the shoot,
0:14:19 > 0:14:23bringing the parachute between those two poles into this array
0:14:23 > 0:14:26of line and grapple hooks.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34First time, it's a miss.
0:14:44 > 0:14:50Then success! But this was also a remarkable historic first.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54This fella here, that's Algene Harmen
0:14:54 > 0:15:01and he was in charge of the pole handlers of the recovery crew.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05And as they reeled in the capsule, there comes a time
0:15:05 > 0:15:09when somebody has to lean out and physically grab it
0:15:09 > 0:15:11and bring it on board the airplane.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12That was one of his jobs.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14And as it came up to the tail,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17finally it was close enough,
0:15:17 > 0:15:18so he reached out to grab it,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22and when he touched it, he jumped back
0:15:22 > 0:15:25and let his hands loose because it was hot.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29He didn't expect that, coming from the stratosphere.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31He thought it was going to be cold,
0:15:31 > 0:15:34but he reached back out and got it and brought it on board.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38That means he was the first human to ever feel the heat of re-entry.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43An unsung hero.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46We're all unsung heroes.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51144 Corona satellites were launched in all,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54taking hundreds of thousands of photographs...
0:15:57 > 0:16:01..of Soviet airbases,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03bombers,
0:16:03 > 0:16:05and rocket launch pads,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09as well as Chinese nuclear test sites.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12It transformed the American military's understanding
0:16:12 > 0:16:13of its Cold War opposition.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20But Corona was cancelled shortly after a Soviet submarine
0:16:20 > 0:16:24was spotted beneath a mid-air drop zone.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29Catching canisters of falling film wasn't just difficult
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and dangerous, it was now compromised.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36There had to be a better way to get images back from space.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40This is a silicon chip.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44But not any old chip.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46When this device was invented,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49it totally revolutionised the world of spy satellites.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54It's called a charge-coupled device - a CCD.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57At its heart is a thin sheet of silicon
0:16:57 > 0:16:59which has an unusual property -
0:16:59 > 0:17:02it's sensitive to light.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05So if a passing photon hits it,
0:17:05 > 0:17:06it takes that photon
0:17:06 > 0:17:08and creates an electron,
0:17:08 > 0:17:10which can then be stored.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13This means it can generate a picture
0:17:13 > 0:17:15of anything that's in its field of view.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18It changed the rules of the game.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24The invention of the CCD in the 1970s allowed satellites
0:17:24 > 0:17:26to take pictures, store them electronically,
0:17:26 > 0:17:28then transmit them back to Earth
0:17:28 > 0:17:32using radio waves.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35Today, intelligence agencies don't reveal how powerful
0:17:35 > 0:17:38their spy satellites are.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40But some details have leaked out.
0:17:40 > 0:17:46In 2007, it was revealed US satellites had been targeting
0:17:46 > 0:17:48American territory.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52In fact, the Superbowl!
0:17:52 > 0:17:58US counter-terrorism wanted to monitor potential internal threats.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The real photographs have never been released.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04They're just too sensitive.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07But it shows the resolution is now powerful enough
0:18:07 > 0:18:11to see objects and individuals
0:18:11 > 0:18:13down to a few centimetres.
0:18:17 > 0:18:20But spying was just the start,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23because civilian scientists also began using
0:18:23 > 0:18:25this new imaging technology,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28transforming our knowledge of the Earth.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30It led, of course,
0:18:30 > 0:18:33to breakthroughs in our understanding of the weather...
0:18:35 > 0:18:39..the shrinking of the icecaps...
0:18:42 > 0:18:46..and the effect of cities on our environment...
0:18:48 > 0:18:55images that have revealed the full wonder of our planet.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Today, satellite images are everywhere,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and available to anyone at the click of a mouse or the touch of a phone.
0:19:08 > 0:19:15It's opened up whole new areas of information and research.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20But the sheer mass of data sometimes creates its own challenges.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Dr Albert Lin is using satellite imagery
0:19:24 > 0:19:28to explore a remote part of Outer Mongolia.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30He's searching for the tomb
0:19:30 > 0:19:34of one of history's most infamous leaders -
0:19:34 > 0:19:37the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41His detailed satellite imagery spans an area
0:19:41 > 0:19:45of more than 10,000 square kilometres.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50But surveying this virtual landscape is almost as hard
0:19:50 > 0:19:52as exploring the real thing.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56We're looking at examples, like this, where you've got roads,
0:19:56 > 0:20:00you've got rivers, and you've got these features, right?
0:20:00 > 0:20:01When you look at it, you say,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04each one of these pixels shows me something.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06This is the wall of a building. You can tell it's man-made.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08You can tell that this is modern.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12But there's also this other feature that looks similarly not natural,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14it looks strange - like these little dots here,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16these mounds there.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20They look like they may be something that was made by people.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23But they look different than this. And what about them looks different?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26It's hard to describe in words. It's hard to quantify.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29But something about it looks ancient. It looks more worn down.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32I would have picked that out as something of interest at least.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Computers can't recognise the features on a satellite image
0:20:36 > 0:20:38that could be ancient ruins.
0:20:38 > 0:20:44So all 10,000 square kilometres need examination by human eye.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47It's a seemingly impossible task.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51But the team's solution is ingenious.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56Dr Lin has enlisted the help of thousands of human volunteers.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02He's broken the vast satellite images into countless smaller ones,
0:21:02 > 0:21:03put them on a website
0:21:03 > 0:21:07and invited anyone to join the digital expedition.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10If someone sees anything interesting,
0:21:10 > 0:21:12they mark it,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15and agreement starts to emerge about what's worth exploring.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17This is an example of
0:21:17 > 0:21:19a lot of human consensus saying,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21"I really see something weird there.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22"You should go check it out."
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Now, let's take a look a little closer.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26So we're zooming in again?
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Yeah, it looks big, it looks weird, it looks rectangular,
0:21:28 > 0:21:30but when you actually look at it in the context
0:21:30 > 0:21:33of the other data around it, you see that it's actually
0:21:33 > 0:21:35right next to these little dots here.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38And when we went out and explored this area, it turns out
0:21:38 > 0:21:40those little dots are people's homes.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42They're their yurts.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44And we found this thing,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47it turns out it was actually this ancient fortress.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Now, it might not be the tomb, but it's definitely a clue.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56Albert Lin and his volunteer force of armchair explorers
0:21:56 > 0:21:59have yet to find Genghis Khan's tomb.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02But I find his work a comforting reminder
0:22:02 > 0:22:05that even the most powerful technology
0:22:05 > 0:22:08can't always better our human judgement.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14CCDs have transformed
0:22:14 > 0:22:18not only what we take in when we look down at our planet,
0:22:18 > 0:22:22but also what we see when we face outwards.
0:22:27 > 0:22:32This will be James Webb's task when it's launched in 2018.
0:22:32 > 0:22:38It'll be glimpsing galaxies that are almost unimaginably distant -
0:22:38 > 0:22:4113 billion light-years away.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49How do you capture the intimate detail of a galaxy
0:22:49 > 0:22:52spread over millions of light years?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Well, the vital component for the James Webb
0:22:55 > 0:22:58is its gigantic golden mirror.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05And it's not just size.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07To see into the depths of space,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10scientists have had to take mirror technology
0:23:10 > 0:23:12to a remarkable new level.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14One part, above all,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18is crucial for the mirrors on space telescopes -
0:23:18 > 0:23:19their coating.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23This is what does the actual reflecting.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38As a space scientist, I've seen many mirrors coated in the past,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41but the people who've been given the daunting task of coating
0:23:41 > 0:23:45the James Webb mirrors are the technicians here
0:23:45 > 0:23:48at Quantum Coatings in New Jersey.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50And I'm about to find out how they do it.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55The mirrors have to be perfect - the tiniest speck of dust
0:23:55 > 0:23:57could be disastrous.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59So Quantum's lab
0:23:59 > 0:24:01is one of the cleanest rooms in the world,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04more spotless even than a hospital operating theatre.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09This hexagonal pane of glass is an exact template
0:24:09 > 0:24:13of the metal sheets that'll make up the James Webb mirror.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19They're made of beryllium - a very rare and extremely strong
0:24:19 > 0:24:20and lightweight metal.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27That gun has dry ionized nitrogen gas,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30he's blowing the surface off.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33This is our last chance to blow off any last remaining
0:24:33 > 0:24:37particles before it goes into the chamber.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44The glass is then carefully placed in a large vacuum chamber.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46The mirror's in there, everything's ready to go,
0:24:46 > 0:24:51and I've got the pleasure of shutting the door.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54For two hours, all the air,
0:24:54 > 0:24:55and any remnants of dust,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58are extracted from the chamber,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01until finally, the gold is added.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Gold is used for the coating
0:25:08 > 0:25:11because it reflects infra-red light so well -
0:25:11 > 0:25:17the part of the spectrum the James Webb cameras use for imaging.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22First, it's heated with a laser, vaporising it.
0:25:27 > 0:25:28How much gold are we talking?
0:25:28 > 0:25:31The amount of gold we evaporate
0:25:31 > 0:25:33is about 40 grams.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38The amount that gets onto the mirror is a quarter of that.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Just a few grams.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42You must be talking about a fairly thin coating of gold?
0:25:42 > 0:25:44To put it into perspective,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48one sheet of paper is about one thousandth of an inch thick.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52We could fit 100 gold coatings into that piece of paper.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Into a single piece of paper? - That's right.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00The result - one of the most perfect mirrors on Earth.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07So, here we are.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12Wow. That is lovely, it's beautiful.
0:26:20 > 0:26:25It's so smooth. I've never seen my reflection so clearly.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28I think the fantastic thing is the idea
0:26:28 > 0:26:33that this coating is going to be out in space... 18 mirrors like this.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37- It's quite phenomenal. - It's quite a thought.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46The 18 mirrors are hexagonal
0:26:46 > 0:26:50because they fit together more snugly than if curved.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54The hexagons also form a shape that is roughly circular,
0:26:54 > 0:26:55so focus the light evenly.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01These mirrors are typical of the James Webb.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Every aspect of its engineering has been pushed to the limits
0:27:05 > 0:27:07of what's technologically possible.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Yet there's a strange irony -
0:27:16 > 0:27:19to launch it, we will rely on the same basic technology
0:27:19 > 0:27:23that got Sputnik into orbit half a century ago -
0:27:23 > 0:27:25a rocket.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28With a payload space that's not much bigger.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Yet the James Webb has huge solar panels,
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and a sun shield to protect its delicate instruments
0:27:40 > 0:27:42that's five layers thick.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46It's all very bulky.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52So how do you squeeze something as large as this
0:27:52 > 0:27:57into a rocket with a carry capacity the size of a school bus?
0:27:59 > 0:28:02The answer is origami.
0:28:06 > 0:28:09The creator of this miniature theme park is Dr Robert Lang.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13And surprisingly, his origami skills have been invaluable
0:28:13 > 0:28:15to NASA's space programme.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Because the Japanese art of origami
0:28:22 > 0:28:25lets you turn something very large...
0:28:26 > 0:28:30..into something very small.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35This is the pattern that I just folded.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39It's called the Miura-ori and it was discovered by Koryo Miura -
0:28:39 > 0:28:42a Japanese engineer working in the Japanese space programme.
0:28:42 > 0:28:48He was studying the way thin plates buckle under stress
0:28:48 > 0:28:50and that led him to discover this fold pattern.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54And he explored it and found it had a really nice property -
0:28:54 > 0:28:58it opens and closes with all of the folds happening together
0:28:58 > 0:29:01because they're mechanically linked.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Then you would only need to bend a single fold
0:29:03 > 0:29:05to make the entire structure open and close.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08When you open one fold, all the other folds follow
0:29:08 > 0:29:13- and you flatten out.- Right. So if this were a solar array in space,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17- you'd only need to put one solenoid or mechanical...- Mechanism.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19- ..mechanism on...- Yes.
0:29:19 > 0:29:21..one fold and that fold would be enough
0:29:21 > 0:29:24to make the whole thing open up.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Robert offers to show me how to make something the size of a solar panel
0:29:29 > 0:29:31fit it into a small payload bay.
0:29:33 > 0:29:37The sheet is nine square metres.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Its transformation will involve
0:29:40 > 0:29:4472 separate folds.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Robert pre-creases the folds
0:29:51 > 0:29:55to increase accuracy and flexibility.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01- Wow, you're forming a spiral.- Yep.
0:30:05 > 0:30:10Origami may be Japanese, but I never expected it be a martial art.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13It certainly needs one or two ninja moves.
0:30:18 > 0:30:20All right!
0:30:20 > 0:30:23So you've taken that huge piece of paper and reduced it to this.
0:30:23 > 0:30:24That's right.
0:30:24 > 0:30:26So if this had been a solar array,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30we've taken it down to the size that could go in a rocket.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32Goes up in space, opens up,
0:30:32 > 0:30:34and then it's ready to deploy
0:30:34 > 0:30:36back to its original flat state.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40We've gone down by a factor of just about 100.
0:30:40 > 0:30:42About ten in each linear dimension.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46And we got that by going from completely flat to a vertical tube.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49But much easier to stow in a rocket.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51Exactly.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54Robert's creation is clever enough.
0:30:54 > 0:30:55But the real revelation
0:30:55 > 0:30:57comes with its opening.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01Although the design appears complex,
0:31:01 > 0:31:04because it was folded along one axis,
0:31:04 > 0:31:08the whole sunshield can be opened with a single motor.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14This animation shows how, in 1995,
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Japanese scientists used the same trick to fold a large solar panel
0:31:18 > 0:31:22on a satellite called The Space Flight Unit.
0:31:22 > 0:31:27It's the brilliant application of 17th-Century Japanese art
0:31:27 > 0:31:30to a very modern Western technology.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41The ability of satellites to have these large structures
0:31:41 > 0:31:44gives them, quite literally,
0:31:44 > 0:31:45their most eye-catching feature.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49It means we can see them from the Earth.
0:31:53 > 0:31:57I can see two flashing things, but I think they're both aeroplanes.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59And something else flashing over there.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03'I'm with a group of Brownies, trying to spot satellites
0:32:03 > 0:32:05'in the early evening sky.'
0:32:05 > 0:32:08Now, we don't just look this way, we've got to look all across the sky
0:32:08 > 0:32:09and try and take it all in.
0:32:09 > 0:32:15I can see the Moon, but I can see two of them.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20On average, two satellites pass over Britain
0:32:20 > 0:32:21every quarter of an hour.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24But they're not the easiest things to see.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27Now, what are you looking for?
0:32:27 > 0:32:30Well, you're looking for something that looks a bit like an aeroplane,
0:32:30 > 0:32:32but won't flash, and it'll move slowly across the sky.
0:32:35 > 0:32:39Tonight, my team of Brownies is in for a treat...
0:32:41 > 0:32:44..because the biggest satellite of them all
0:32:44 > 0:32:46is due to pass directly over Hatfield.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52It's the International Space Station,
0:32:52 > 0:32:55the largest thing human beings
0:32:55 > 0:32:57have ever put into orbit.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00It took more than 12 years
0:33:00 > 0:33:02and 30 trips to build,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04and it circles the Earth nearly 16 times a day.
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Everyone - including the astronomers with their telescopes -
0:33:11 > 0:33:16is waiting for it to appear over the horizon.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Wow! I can see a star moving really, really quickly!
0:33:19 > 0:33:22I don't think that's a star moving - that's a space station.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26- I don't see it.- That is the International Space Station.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30There's a crude rule of thumb -
0:33:30 > 0:33:34if a satellite orbits 300km up,
0:33:34 > 0:33:39it needs to be just one square metre for us to see it with the naked eye.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46The ISS has eight solar arrays, each 70m long.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48So with a pair of binoculars,
0:33:48 > 0:33:51you can see it from Earth in wonderful detail.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55What's that?
0:33:55 > 0:33:56That's still the space station,
0:33:56 > 0:33:58so it's gone all the way from over there,
0:33:58 > 0:34:01up above our heads, and now it's heading over there.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Can you see it's still moving slowly...
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Like many satellites, the ISS is only visible
0:34:07 > 0:34:11for a few minutes before it disappears over the horizon.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14- I think it's gone now. - BROWNIES: Aw!
0:34:14 > 0:34:16I know. But at least we saw it.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19In the early days of satellites,
0:34:19 > 0:34:22this vanishing act was as frustrating
0:34:22 > 0:34:27to their engineers and controllers as it was for our Brownies.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30It meant that the opportunity to transmit a signal,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32like a television picture,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35back to a particular point on Earth was very brief.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38Maybe only lasting a few minutes.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41So the dream of the first satellite engineers
0:34:41 > 0:34:44was to have a satellite that stayed stationary
0:34:44 > 0:34:46above a single point on the Earth,
0:34:46 > 0:34:50allowing them to transmit information whenever they wanted.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00So how do you keep an orbiting satellite
0:35:00 > 0:35:04hovering above a single point over a rotating planet?
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Well, it seems simple -
0:35:06 > 0:35:10you just slow your satellite down until it's above the point you want.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13But unfortunately, it's a lot harder than it sounds.
0:35:13 > 0:35:16And to show you, I'm going to use this carousel.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Imagine it's the Earth, spinning on its axis.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29And let's say I'm a satellite, orbiting it.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32If I start slowing down to be above just one place,
0:35:32 > 0:35:37I'm not going fast enough to stay in orbit,
0:35:37 > 0:35:39so I start spiralling down towards the Earth
0:35:39 > 0:35:44and eventually, I burn up in the atmosphere.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48There is a solution.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50The further I get away from the Earth,
0:35:50 > 0:35:53the weaker the effect of gravity -
0:35:53 > 0:35:55the less it pulls me back.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59And there is a magical point where the force of gravity
0:35:59 > 0:36:02is so weak that I can travel fast enough to stay in orbit,
0:36:02 > 0:36:07but also slowly enough to match the speed of a single point
0:36:07 > 0:36:09on the Earth's surface below.
0:36:11 > 0:36:17Scientists calculated that this is nearly 36,000km away.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22Orbit here and you can stay above the same point on Earth.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29You are now in a geo-stationary orbit.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33And when this was first achieved, it triggered a revolution,
0:36:33 > 0:36:35because now - any time, day or night -
0:36:35 > 0:36:38you could beam information back to Earth.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40This was the birth of the communications satellite.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47It meant that with as few as three geo-stationery satellites,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50you could beam a signal
0:36:50 > 0:36:52around the planet,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54broadcasting it to almost anyone.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05The first satellite to relay a television signal was
0:37:05 > 0:37:07Telstar in 1962.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Here we are. There's a bar. Now, we are antic...
0:37:12 > 0:37:15That's a man's face. There it is! There it is!
0:37:15 > 0:37:19Its first broadcast lasted just 19 minutes.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24But within a few years,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27a network of geo-stationery satellites
0:37:27 > 0:37:31meant live communication was possible any time -
0:37:31 > 0:37:33or any place - on Earth.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35When there are more satellites still,
0:37:35 > 0:37:37you'll have television and telephones
0:37:37 > 0:37:39all over the globe - a shattering thought.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44Broadcast television had created a global living room -
0:37:44 > 0:37:48with shared experiences
0:37:48 > 0:37:51and values.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59Ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:38:01 > 0:38:03'25 years of hatred and rage...'
0:38:03 > 0:38:07It also meant that as well as recording events,
0:38:07 > 0:38:11satellite broadcasts were now helping to cause them.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Like the protests in Tiananmen Square,
0:38:16 > 0:38:18the fall of the Berlin Wall...
0:38:22 > 0:38:25..or the Arab Spring.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36Today, nearly 200 communications satellites
0:38:36 > 0:38:39are broadcasting back to Earth.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42Most in geostationary orbit.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45But staying 35,786km above
0:38:45 > 0:38:49a single place on Earth isn't easy.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52Satellites tend to drift.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55So to keep them in position, you need a technology
0:38:55 > 0:38:59that reached its pinnacle with Saturn 5...
0:39:04 > 0:39:06..the most powerful rocket ever built.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14But rocket thrusters don't all need to be like this.
0:39:16 > 0:39:21To keep a satellite like the James Webb in orbit, for instance,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25you need thruster technology that's far more precise.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40Despite being the size of a tennis court and weighing over six tons,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42the James Webb Space Telescope
0:39:42 > 0:39:45will use micro-thrusters the size of a coffee cup.
0:39:45 > 0:39:47How is this possible?
0:39:47 > 0:39:51Well, it's due to the micro-gravity vacuum environment of space.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54With virtually no air resistance, or drag,
0:39:54 > 0:39:58it can take a tiny force to move a very large object.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03Engineers here at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
0:40:03 > 0:40:08are at the cutting edge of thruster engineering,
0:40:08 > 0:40:12taking them to a new level of precision.
0:40:16 > 0:40:17Here in the lab,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21they've got an unusual way of recreating the frictionless
0:40:21 > 0:40:23conditions of space.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27They're using a table-top and mini-satellites called Spheres.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33We have a very smooth surface,
0:40:33 > 0:40:36and we also have these air carriages,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39which are little structures
0:40:39 > 0:40:42we put underneath the satellite that have CO2 attached to them
0:40:42 > 0:40:45in these tanks and we use them a lot like an air hockey table.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46So, can I see them in action?
0:40:46 > 0:40:47Sure, absolutely.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49So, your job is going
0:40:49 > 0:40:51to be to fly this satellite,
0:40:51 > 0:40:53which is sitting right here,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56all the way over and dock with this satellite.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58I'm not a very good games player, so I'm a bit nervous now.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Let me put this down here.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02Twist the controller.
0:41:02 > 0:41:03Woo-hoo!
0:41:05 > 0:41:09The micro thrusters on the spheres shoot compressed carbon dioxide.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16It's colourless, but strips of tinsel show when they're firing.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18- So, that would give me some twist? - Yes. Exactly.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22- I could do a dance!- Yes. Exactly!
0:41:22 > 0:41:25Trying to, um... OK.
0:41:27 > 0:41:28Now, which way?
0:41:28 > 0:41:32OK, that's one of the other hard things to figure out - which way?
0:41:32 > 0:41:34As I spin, yeah, I lose my orientation.
0:41:34 > 0:41:39Oh, yeah. And it just keeps on going, doesn't it? Uh-oh.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Fire a thruster
0:41:42 > 0:41:43and just like in space,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46your satellite shoots off in the opposite direction,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49with nothing to stop it.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Imagine how hard it is in three dimensions!
0:41:55 > 0:41:59So far, they've tested the Spheres on board the ISS.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03It shows that their thrusters are so precise,
0:42:03 > 0:42:07the Spheres can fly in close formation.
0:42:07 > 0:42:13The next step is to build satellites that can do this in open orbit.
0:42:13 > 0:42:16There you go. That's a good trajectory.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Now, don't build up too much speed there.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28- Hurray!- Docked!
0:42:30 > 0:42:34This ability to keep satellites in one position -
0:42:34 > 0:42:37and know where they are - is now remarkably accurate.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44But it's had a surprising side-effect,
0:42:44 > 0:42:47because it means we can also know our position
0:42:47 > 0:42:50extremely accurately.
0:42:51 > 0:42:56The story begins back in 1957,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59shortly after Sputnik was sent into orbit.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05The sound of any object changes as it moves past us.
0:43:10 > 0:43:12While Sputnik was orbiting,
0:43:12 > 0:43:17American scientists realised they could use this knowledge
0:43:17 > 0:43:19to locate it - listening to the changing
0:43:19 > 0:43:22sound of its beep as it moved overhead.
0:43:26 > 0:43:27It got scientists thinking -
0:43:27 > 0:43:31if you could work out the position of a satellite
0:43:31 > 0:43:34from here on the ground, could you reverse the process?
0:43:34 > 0:43:38Could you use the satellite's known location to find your unknown one?
0:43:40 > 0:43:45The result was the Global Positioning System - or GPS...
0:43:46 > 0:43:49..and how it works is simpler than you'd think.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55It's all due to one of these.
0:43:55 > 0:44:01The breakthrough technology that led to GPS was actually a clock.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05But not any old ticker. This is an atomic clock,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07the most accurate timekeeping device ever built.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11For instance, if I set one of these going at the time of the Big Bang
0:44:11 > 0:44:13and let it run through,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17we would now know the age of the universe to within a few days.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20Now, compare that with a Quartz watch
0:44:20 > 0:44:23and it would be out by 150,000 years!
0:44:23 > 0:44:27Atomic clocks are so crucial to GPS
0:44:27 > 0:44:30because the first step in working out your position using a satellite
0:44:30 > 0:44:32is to know exactly where the satellite is.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36And the best way to do that is using time.
0:44:36 > 0:44:42Each GPS satellite broadcasts a signal with a time stamp.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44It takes the signal just
0:44:44 > 0:44:46a fraction of a second to travel
0:44:46 > 0:44:49to your GPS receiver back on Earth.
0:44:49 > 0:44:50When it arrives,
0:44:50 > 0:44:54the receiver's clock works out how much earlier the signal was sent.
0:44:54 > 0:45:00Knowing this time difference means it can then work out
0:45:00 > 0:45:01how long it's taken to arrive,
0:45:01 > 0:45:05so how far away the satellite is.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07But it doesn't do this just for one satellite -
0:45:07 > 0:45:11it does it for at least four.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16Having calculated how far away each is,
0:45:16 > 0:45:20your receiver then creates spheres of distance around you.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25And where they intersect is where you are.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32There are 31 GPS satellites in all,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35and the more you are in contact with,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38the more accurate your reading.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41It means wherever we are in the world,
0:45:41 > 0:45:46GPS can tell us our position within a few metres.
0:45:55 > 0:46:01But increasingly, GPS can also tell us what the planet is about to do.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10I've come to Japan - to Mount Usu.
0:46:10 > 0:46:15It's one of the country's most impressive natural wonders...
0:46:17 > 0:46:21..but it's also a time-bomb,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25because Usu is a volcano.
0:46:28 > 0:46:31In the past, any volcanic activity here
0:46:31 > 0:46:33has usually been seen as a false alarm.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38The locals tend to ignore it and stay put.
0:46:38 > 0:46:39But when, in March 2000,
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Usu shook with earth tremors,
0:46:41 > 0:46:45scientists insisted 16,000 reluctant locals
0:46:45 > 0:46:46were evacuated.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55Within days, a huge eruption spewed large amounts
0:46:55 > 0:46:58of ash and mud down the volcano,
0:46:58 > 0:47:03destroying a hospital, a school, and hundreds of homes.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06Yet not a single person died.
0:47:08 > 0:47:11The reason scientists were so worried this time
0:47:11 > 0:47:14was partly thanks to GPS.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22This is one of a network of GPS stations around Usu
0:47:22 > 0:47:26that played a key role in saving so many lives.
0:47:27 > 0:47:28Over 48 hours,
0:47:28 > 0:47:30at the end of March 2000,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34the distance between two of these
0:47:34 > 0:47:37stations increased by two centimetres.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39It doesn't sound much,
0:47:39 > 0:47:41but for the volcano experts,
0:47:41 > 0:47:43it was a signal
0:47:43 > 0:47:48that huge forces were building beneath the surface.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52And it helped them decide to order an evacuation.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24But, of course, volcanoes aren't the only natural disaster
0:48:24 > 0:48:26that's struck Japan...
0:48:30 > 0:48:34Last year, the country was devastated by the Tohoku earthquake.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40It was one of the worst in the country's history,
0:48:40 > 0:48:43triggering a tsunami that reached 40m high.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50Nearly 20,000 people lost their lives.
0:48:54 > 0:48:58It's hard to believe this was once a school.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09Yet despite the fact a GPS receiver stands in the grounds,
0:49:09 > 0:49:12on the frontline of the devastation,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16GPS technology couldn't predict the earthquake.
0:49:19 > 0:49:21Even though GPS can measure
0:49:21 > 0:49:24the surface of the Earth in great detail,
0:49:24 > 0:49:28it cannot predict tectonic shifts beneath the ground.
0:49:28 > 0:49:32It can tell us what has happened, not what's about to happen.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39Or that's what we thought.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Professor Kosuke Heki analyses GPS signals,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44but he's not working out his location.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50He tries to work out why they fluctuate.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53He measures how much GPS is disrupted
0:49:53 > 0:49:56by electrons in the atmosphere.
0:49:56 > 0:50:01It's called the TEC - or Total Electron Content.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Professor Heki has been studying how, after big earthquakes,
0:50:07 > 0:50:11rumbling sound waves disrupt GPS signals.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14But in the days after the Tohoku earthquake,
0:50:14 > 0:50:17he noticed something unexpected.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23He discovered a strange disruption in GPS signals
0:50:23 > 0:50:26before the earthquake happened.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30I want to understand what's happening with this phenomena,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33so can you show me a curve of what's happening with no earthquake,
0:50:33 > 0:50:35and what's happening if an earthquake is coming?
0:50:35 > 0:50:37OK.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40So this is the TEC.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42TEC?
0:50:42 > 0:50:45That's the number of electrons in the ionosphere - about 300km up.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47- Yes.- OK.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49This is time.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52And if there's no earthquake,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55it behaves like a smooth curve, like this.
0:50:55 > 0:50:59So why do we get that strange curve? Why isn't it a flat?
0:50:59 > 0:51:02Because of the movement of the GPS satellite in the sky.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06This apparent movement, apparent change.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09So, when it goes through a thick bit of atmosphere,
0:51:09 > 0:51:10you get more electrons.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13As it's straight overhead, you get fewer electrons, and then again,
0:51:13 > 0:51:17- you get a thick bit.- Yes.- OK, that makes sense.- So you get a curve.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19But that's if no earthquake's going to happen.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22Yes. And if there's earthquake here, for example...
0:51:22 > 0:51:25- So that's the earthquake. - Yes. This is the earthquake.
0:51:25 > 0:51:30..then it will leave the normal curve
0:51:30 > 0:51:33about one hour before the earthquake - like this.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36And there is a disturbance caused by the sound wave.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38So it suddenly seems from this curve,
0:51:38 > 0:51:40because it's higher than this one,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43- you're getting more electrons in the atmosphere.- That's right.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46That seems strange. You've got an earthquake coming
0:51:46 > 0:51:49and suddenly, you're getting more electrons in the atmosphere.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Yes, it's a very strange phenomenon.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56It's thought that in the lead-up to an earthquake,
0:51:56 > 0:52:00forces deep underground somehow energize electrons
0:52:00 > 0:52:01high in the atmosphere
0:52:01 > 0:52:04which, in turn, disrupts GPS signals.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09And Heki has noticed this has also happened
0:52:09 > 0:52:12before other earthquakes too,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14like Chile in 2010.
0:52:15 > 0:52:18It's a remarkable discovery which, at the moment,
0:52:18 > 0:52:21scientists don't fully understand.
0:52:22 > 0:52:28But it offers hope that one day, GPS will act as an earthquake predictor,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31saving countless lives.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38For half a century, satellites have been at the cutting
0:52:38 > 0:52:42edge of technological advance -
0:52:42 > 0:52:44driving rocket design...
0:52:47 > 0:52:51..revolutionising how we view the planet...
0:52:54 > 0:52:59..transforming our ability to communicate...
0:53:00 > 0:53:04..and even to know where we are.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11But now, in the early 21st century,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14this technology is becoming far simpler and smaller.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19Satellites are no longer just for big governments
0:53:19 > 0:53:25and powerful corporations. They're becoming almost personal.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35And tonight, I've got a front-row seat to discover how.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41Here in the Vandenburg Airforce base in California,
0:53:41 > 0:53:46scientists are taking the next leap forward in satellite technology.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Inside the tip of the rocket, situated over there,
0:53:50 > 0:53:51are some of the first
0:53:51 > 0:53:55new prototypes in the personal satellite revolution.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59They're called CubeSats, and they look like this.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02Five of these satellites will all be released
0:54:02 > 0:54:05into orbit hundreds of miles above our heads,
0:54:05 > 0:54:10like a flock of strange alien birds circling the earth.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14They're owned, mostly, by universities,
0:54:14 > 0:54:17and will join the 40 or so other CubeSats
0:54:17 > 0:54:19already in orbit.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22They do everything - from measuring radiation in the solar system
0:54:22 > 0:54:25to studying bacteria in space.
0:54:31 > 0:54:32Surprisingly,
0:54:32 > 0:54:36one country at the forefront of CubeSat technology is Britain.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Here, engineers have devised
0:54:39 > 0:54:43one of the most imaginative uses for them so far.
0:54:45 > 0:54:47That bit in the centre is the CubeSat,
0:54:47 > 0:54:49but do all CubeSats have these sails as well?
0:54:49 > 0:54:51This is a particular mission.
0:54:51 > 0:54:52It's called CubeSail.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54One of the big hot topics
0:54:54 > 0:54:55at the moment is space debris.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57There's lots of debris up in space.
0:54:57 > 0:55:02So if we can attach these CubeSats to bits of debris -
0:55:02 > 0:55:04maybe they be old satellites,
0:55:04 > 0:55:08or old parts of launches which are still orbiting up there -
0:55:08 > 0:55:11if we can attach these CubeSats to them,
0:55:11 > 0:55:14open up the solar sails and allow them
0:55:14 > 0:55:16to literally drag them back into orbit
0:55:16 > 0:55:19and burn up in a safe manner,
0:55:19 > 0:55:21it means we are de-cluttering space.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23I must admit,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26one of my fears with CubeSats is the idea of all these little things
0:55:26 > 0:55:27in space causing more space debris,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29but this is actually helping to solve the problem.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32- Yes, very much so, indeed. - It's very neat.
0:55:32 > 0:55:37CubeSats all rely on the same basic components,
0:55:37 > 0:55:40much like the different parts of a PC.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Here in Surrey, they're taking this to an extreme.
0:55:44 > 0:55:49Dr Peter Shaw shows me how they are currently building
0:55:49 > 0:55:52a satellite around the smallest and most popular computer
0:55:52 > 0:55:55that exists today - the smartphone.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00So our modern-day smartphone -
0:56:00 > 0:56:02a couple of hundred pounds from the High Street -
0:56:02 > 0:56:06is a very capable device.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08It's got cameras on there,
0:56:08 > 0:56:09it's got storage,
0:56:09 > 0:56:11a gigabyte's worth of storage,
0:56:11 > 0:56:13it's got processors,
0:56:13 > 0:56:15very advanced processors,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17it's got accelerometers...
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Ah, so the accelerometers are things that orientate the screen,
0:56:20 > 0:56:22- so you get a direction?- Yeah.
0:56:22 > 0:56:23That's clever.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26And we can use those sensors in our space-craft. OK?
0:56:26 > 0:56:32So the whole idea in the future is to get rid of all these components
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and replace them with a mobile phone.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39So this is the internal structure of the CubeSat itself,
0:56:39 > 0:56:42where we'll mount everything on to.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Often, when I think of space science,
0:56:44 > 0:56:46you think of huge companies with big budgets,
0:56:46 > 0:56:48and although this isn't cheap,
0:56:48 > 0:56:52you could almost do it in your garden shed.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57Yes, certainly, if you had a bit of money.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Compared to other satellites, for instance,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01the big communication satellites,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04you're talking 500, 600 million pounds.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08If you're talking about satellites the size of a washing machine,
0:57:08 > 0:57:12you're talking about 10 to 15 million pounds.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14So how much does this cost?
0:57:14 > 0:57:16All in all, you could put a whole mission together
0:57:16 > 0:57:19for about £80,000.
0:57:19 > 0:57:21It seems to me that in the future,
0:57:21 > 0:57:24satellites will increasingly provide customised services
0:57:24 > 0:57:27for small groups of people - even individuals.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32They'll allow imaging,
0:57:32 > 0:57:38communication and exploration at a whole new personalised level.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44Over the last half-century, satellites have transformed
0:57:44 > 0:57:49the way we lead our lives.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51But I feel we are now on the launch pad
0:57:51 > 0:57:53of a second satellite revolution,
0:57:53 > 0:57:58and it's one whose impact could be even more profound.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02The age of the personal satellite!
0:58:02 > 0:58:04Main engines start... One,
0:58:04 > 0:58:09zero and lift-off!
0:58:10 > 0:58:14My God! That's amazing. It's so bright, and you can feel it.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16You can feel the vibrations.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21I've always wanted to see a rocket launch
0:58:21 > 0:58:24and to be here and to see it like that...
0:58:24 > 0:58:26Just amazing!
0:58:26 > 0:58:29That is the fulfilment of a lifetime dream.
0:58:44 > 0:58:48Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd