data & art

This is the moment the rocket leaves the ground, when the engines fire and it starts its journey into space. We call it "T+0" because it’s the starting point for the launch countdown going forward.

As the rocket goes up, it pushes through the thickest part of Earth’s atmosphere. Max Q is the moment when the rocket feels the most air pressure pushing against it. Engineers have to make sure the rocket is strong enough to survive this moment.

This stands for Main Engine Cutoff. It’s when the rocket's main engines shut off because they’ve used up their fuel. This usually means the rocket has reached space, and now it’s time for the next part of the mission.

This is when the rocket or spacecraft moves into a stable path around Earth, called orbit. It’s like getting into a highway in space- the spacecraft now circles Earth without falling back down.

G-force is a way to measure how much force your body feels when you speed up, slow down, or change direction—like during a rocket launch or on a roller coaster. One “g” is the normal pull of gravity you feel standing on Earth. If you feel 2 g, your body feels twice as heavy—like gravity is pulling on you two times harder than usual. On the Moon, gravity is much weaker. You only feel about 0.17 g, which means you’d weigh about one-sixth as much as you do on Earth. In space, astronauts experience 0 g, or zero gravity, because they’re in free fall around Earth and feel weightless as they float.