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Ep188: Space Ships · Kidcast Daily

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  Spin the wheel, let's take a ride.
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  Sports and science bursting from inside a world of wonder.
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  Open wide. Come on kids, let's amplify kid
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  cats. Daily starts yours.
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  Welcome to Kick Ass Daily where we bring news, trivia, fun
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  facts, and more just for curious kids like you.
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  Today we are going on an amazing adventure to learn all about
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  spaceships. Have you ever looked up at the
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  stars and wondered how people get from Earth into space?
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  Or maybe you've seen pictures of astronauts floating around and
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  thought how did they get there? Well, the answer is spaceships.
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  Get ready, because we're going to break down everything you
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  need to know about these incredible vehicles step by
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  step. Let's start at the very
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  beginning. What exactly is a spaceship?
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  A spaceship is a special kind of vehicle that is designed to
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  travel beyond Earth's atmosphere.
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  Unlike cars, trains, or airplanes, spaceships have to
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  work in places where there's no air to breathe and no roads or
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  tracks to follow. They have to be able to survive
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  extreme temperatures, protect people from dangerous radiation,
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  and carry everything needed for a trip into space.
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  There are many different types of spaceships, but the most
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  common ones are called spacecraft.
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  Some spacecraft carry people and others are robotic and carry
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  scientific instruments. Let's talk about the main types.
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  First. There are rockets.
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  Rockets are the most powerful type of spaceship.
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  They're used to launch things from Earth into space.
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  Rockets work by burning fuel really fast and shooting it out
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  of the back, which pushes the rocket forward.
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  This is called thrust. The most famous rockets in
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  history include the Saturn 5, which took astronauts to the
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  moon during the Apollo missions, and the Space Launch System, a
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  newer rocket built by NASA. Did you know that the Saturn 5
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  rocket was as tall as a 36 story building?
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  That's more than 110 meters high.
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  It weighed about 3000 tons when it was fully fueled.
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  That's about as much as 400 elephants.
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  The Saturn 5 could carry astronauts and all their
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  equipment to the moon. Next, let's talk about space
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  shuttles. The space shuttle was a special
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  kind of spaceship used by NASA from 1981 to 2011.
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  It looked a bit like an airplane with wings, but it needed
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  rockets to launch into space. Once it was in orbit, it could
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  fly around the Earth, carry astronauts and cargo, and even
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  help build the International Space Station. 1 cool thing
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  about the space shuttle is that it could return to Earth and
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  land on a runway just like an airplane.
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  Most rockets can't do that. They fall into the ocean or burn
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  up in the atmosphere after they're used.
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  The space shuttle was reusable, which means it could be used for
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  more than one mission. That helps save money and
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  allowed astronauts to go to space more often.
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  Now let's talk about capsules. Capsules are another kind of
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  spaceship. They're smaller than space
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  shuttles and look a bit like cones.
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  Capsules don't have wings, but they are very strong and can
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  survive the tough trip through Earth's atmosphere when
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  returning from space. Famous capsules include the
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  Apollo command module, which took astronauts to the moon, and
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  the Crew Dragon, which is used today by SpaceX to carry
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  astronauts to the International Space Station.
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  Capsules usually land by parachuting down into the ocean
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  or onto land. Did you know that the first
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  astronauts to return from the moon splashed down in the
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  Pacific Ocean? Navy ships would go out to pick
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  them up. There are also space probes and
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  satellites. These are robotic spaceships
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  that don't carry people. Space probes are used to explore
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  faraway places like Mars, Jupiter, or even the edge of our
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  solar system. For example, the Voyager 1 probe
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  has traveled farther from Earth than any other man made object.
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  It was launched in 1977 and is still sending data back to Earth
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  today. Satellites are spaceships that
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  orbit around planets. Some satellites study Earth's
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  weather, take pictures, or help us with GPS navigation.
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  Others study other planets or the sun.
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  There are thousands of satellites orbiting Earth right
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  now. Now that we've learned about the
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  types of spaceships, let's talk about how they work.
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  The most important part of any spaceship is its rocket engines.
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  Rocket engines need fuel and an oxidizer to burn because there's
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  no air in space. When the fuel burns, it creates
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  hot gas that shoots out of the back of the rocket, pushing it
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  forward. This is what helps the rocket
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  escape Earth's gravity. Spaceships also need to be very
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  strong. They're built from special
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  materials that can handle the pressure and heat of launching
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  into space. For example, when a spaceship
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  reenters Earth's atmosphere, it gets so hot that the outside can
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  reach temperatures of over 1600°C.
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  That's hotter than lava from a volcano.
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  To protect the astronauts and equipment inside, spaceships
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  have special heat Shields that absorb and deflect the heat
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  inside. Spaceships are packed with
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  equipment to keep astronauts safe and comfortable.
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  There are air tanks to provide oxygen, filters to clean the
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  air, and water recycling systems.
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  Astronauts eat special food that is easy to store and won't make
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  a mess. There are computers to control
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  the ship, radios to talk to Earth, and even small bathrooms.
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  Did you know that astronauts have to strap themselves into
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  their beds when they sleep? That's because there's no
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  gravity in space, so they would float around if they didn't.
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  Space ships also need to have power.
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  Most modern space ships use solar panels to collect energy
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  from the sun. These panels turn sunlight into
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  electricity, which powers the lights, computers and other
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  equipment. Some older spaceships used
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  batteries or even small nuclear reactors.
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  Now let's explore what it's like to travel on a spaceship.
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  When a spaceship launches, the astronauts feel strong forces
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  pushing them back into their seats.
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  This is called G Force. As the rocket climbs higher, the
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  sky turns from blue to black, and soon the astronauts are
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  floating in zero gravity. In space, there is no up or
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  down. Everything floats, including the
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  astronauts, their food, and even drops of water.
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  Astronauts have to learn how to move carefully and use hand
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  rails to get around. They eat, sleep, and do
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  experiments while floating. They also exercise every day to
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  keep their muscles and bones strong.
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  Because being in space for a long time can make you weak.
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  Some space ships dock with space stations, which are like giant
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  homes and laboratories in orbit. The International Space Station,
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  or ISS, is the biggest one. It's about the size of a
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  football field and orbits Earth once every 90 minutes.
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  Astronauts from many countries live and work on the ISS,
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  studying everything from plants to how the human body changes in
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  space. Did you know that the ISS
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  travels around Earth at a speed of about 28,000 kilometers per
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  hour? That means astronauts see a
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  sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes.
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  Spaceships have helped us learn so much about our universe.
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  They have taken people to the moon, sent robots to explore
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  Mars, and even helped us study the sun and distant planets.
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  Scientists are working on new spaceships that could take
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  people to Mars or even farther in the future.
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  One exciting new spaceship is the Starship.
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  Being developed by SpaceX, Starship is designed to carry up
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  to 100 people and lots of cargo. It is being built to be fully
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  reusable, which means it can be used over and over again.
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  This could make space travel much cheaper and allow more
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  people to go to space. NASA is also working on the
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  Orion spacecraft, which will take astronauts to the Moon and
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  beyond as part of the Artemis missions.
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  The goal is to land the first woman and the next man on the
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  moon and then prepare for trips to Mars.
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  Let's take a moment for some fun trivia.
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  Did you know that the first living creature to orbit Earth
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  was a dog named like a like a road in a small spaceship called
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  Sputnik 2 in 1957. Since then, many animals have
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  traveled to space, including monkeys, mice, and even
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  jellyfish to help scientists learn how living things react to
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  space travel. Another fun fact, the first
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  person to travel to space was Yuri Gagarin from Russia.
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  He flew in a small capsule called called Vostok One in
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  1961. His trip lasted only 108
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  minutes, but it changed history forever.
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  Spaceships are not just for astronauts.
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  Engineers, scientists, and technicians all work together to
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  design, build, and test these amazing machines.
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  It takes thousands of people working as a team to make a
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  space mission possible. So let's recap what we learned
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  today. Spaceships are special vehicles
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  designed to travel in space. There are different types,
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  including rockets, shuttles, capsules, probes, and
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  satellites. Rockets provide the power to
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  escape Earth's gravity. Spaceships need to be strong,
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  safe, and have systems to support life.
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  Astronauts live and work on spaceships and space stations,
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  and they have to adjust to living in zero gravity.
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  New spaceships are being built right now to take people farther
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  than ever before. Spaceships have helped us
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  explore the universe, make new discoveries, and dream about
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  what's possible. Who knows, maybe one day you
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  will help build or even fly a spaceship yourself.
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  Thanks for joining us on Kick Cast Daily.
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  Stay curious, keep asking questions, and never stop
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  exploring. See you next time.
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  Grab your breakfast. Feeling fine?
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  Adventures waiting? Don't be late, Today's the day
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  we celebrate. Kick Cast Daily starts your day.