Launch minus 1 month!

With a launch date on February 25th, we are basically at 1 month from launch now.

The encapsulation of the spacecraft being planned for the 16th of February, this means that we still have 3 full weeks to complete the Cryosat-2 testing, pressurization of the tank with nitrogen removing the red tag items, placing the green ones.... After this date the spacecraft (SC) will be in the fairing and be brought to the launch pad. We no longer shall have opportunities to see it anymore. We will however always linked to it via the checkout equipment and the Telemetry.

So this symbolic date of "Launch minus 1 month" gives the opportunity to describe simply what will be key places and elements for the Launch. Namely we have:

• The Silo (which is part of launch pad 109)
  
• The Bunker (where the closest Electrical Ground Segment Equipment to the SC will be installed for the launch)
  
• The MIK (where one part of the ESA launch team will be based)
  
• ESOC (the ESA Operation Centre, located in Darmstadt Germany where the other part of the ESA team will follow the launch and will take the floor after the Cryosat-2 injection in orbit i.e. roughly 20 minutes after launch).

1-The Silo and the Bunker
No pictures can be published.
The few of us who brought the NDIU equipment inside the bunker on 18/01 were supposed to complete this task (including transport from the MIK) in 4 hours. Due to few technical problems they had to fix in the bunker, they came back after 6 hours completely "'breeze frozen"! A lesson learnt for the next visits to the bunker :-)

2-Start of "Road 109'' leading to launch pad - [picture taken from the bus]
this is the very place where the happy few escorting Cryosat during its transport from MIK to launch pad 109 will be able to see the spacecraft (SC) for the last time. ESA team is not allowed to go beyond this point. All further operations to assemble the SC on the launcher are fully under Russian control.


3-From the MIK, a view from the 3rd floor on the launch pad 109 and launch will be observed. Distance between MIK and launch pad is ca 8,4 kms looking in the south-west direction.


3- the ESOC Mission Control Room (MCR) located in Germany
On the last top screen on the right all lights should remain GREEN to allow the launch to go.


4-In the MCR, you can see below the Spacecraft Operation Manager (SOM) desk and Skipper, one of the penguin mascot of the Cryosat-2 mission.
The SOM is a key person during the launch collecting real time information from all sources (Launcher, Project, Tracking stations...) and making real time decision as well.
Malindi is the first station acquiring CryoSat-2 after launch. Svalbard in another tracking station located on the Spitzberg island.