Originally Posted by
B Fraser
Agree 100%. Even the NASA pre-packaged soundbite on a normal launch is excruciating. Why not try enthusing everyone with little known facts ? I do a few STEM talks each year (next subject, the unmanned moon landings) and have covered the history and science of rocket engines. Telling the audience that the fuel pumps of the Saturn V required 40,000 horsepower or 3 times the amount of energy of an entire Formula 1 grid, keeps the audience's attention.
Whatever happened to "the vehicle has cleared the tower" ? Maybe I'm just becoming an old fart but I would be explaining the mach shockwave pattern in the exhaust plume and why the plume changes throughout the flight. Nobody gives two hoots about "awesome", we can see that for ourselves thanks. Try explaining why the sound "crackles", you will captivate the interested and the uninterested will go back to their gaming.
There are a couple of independent you tubers that are much more switched on to this sort of thing. The Everyday Astronaut, Tim Dodd, almost always explains why the plume expands for example. His deep dives in to 'rocket science' are well worth a look.