Team photos of the day 28/01/2010

09:00 am "daily" at the MIK


17:45 Group photo in the clean room
Organized by Christophe who returns to ESTEC tomorrow


18:00 Team boards the bus to the hotel
Most of the time bus left the MIK at 20:00 and even later for few of us!


18:30 A good opportunity to enjoy the sunset on the Steppe during the trip
Not seen for since almost 2 weeks due to night transport


19:45 Fabio, Philippe and Laurent open the Restaurant
All suited with SIRAL-2 rugby polos


21:30 Astrium, CryoSat-2 Prime Contractor, offered drinks at the Bar of the Hotel Sputnik
Note Marco's presence (2nd from the left) who joined Baikonur last Tuesday with his luggage full of spare parts which were urgently needed for the continuation of the test campaign. He managed to get on his own all this stuff through the Russian customs. Thanks Marco for all these efforts!


...and Klaus-Peter, Astrium CS-2 Project Manager, offered CryoSat-2 fleeces and polos to the team

SIRAL-2 tests in progress

SIRAL-2 is a radar altimeter carried by CryoSat-2 that will be used to measure the height between spacecraft and ice sheets on Earth.
By superposing data after several passes over the same place, it can be deducted how this height changes. After complex processing of data and use of different modes of the SIRAL-2, it can be established if over a defined area, and a defined period of time, there is accumulation or melting of ice.

The performance verification of this instrument is essential to assure the success of the CS-2 mission. A last SIRAL-2 series of tests is foreseen during the CS-2 launch campaign.

These tests require the Radar altimeter to be activated as in space conditions. After radar pulses are emitted by SIRAL-2, the antenna (s) will receive artificial echoes generated by the Electrical Ground Segment Equipment (EGSE).
An anechoic wall (in blue) placed opposite to the radar antennas will absorb the radiated emissions from the instrument. This wall also carries horns (not visible here) to send echoes artifically generated by the EGSE.

Cryosat-2 configured for SIRAL-2 tests:


Philippe from Alcatel Alenia space* on the SIRAL-2 EGSE console. This Ground Equipment processes radar pulses and simulates radar echoes responses via horns placed on the wall.


Rob, from ESA is positioning the "wall" with the best accuracy. This distance is very important for a good "understanding"' and processing of these echoes responses by the SIRAL-2 instrument.


Now, as you can see, test is in progress: the red lamp warns staff that the radar altimeter is in function.


Good news: DORIS flight-like tests have been successfully completed the last days. DORIS is a GPS-like instrument developed by CNES that provided the exact location of the spacecraft at a certain time. DORIS is always coupled with SIRAL-2 because the position of the spacecraft during the SIRAL-2 measurements is required to process the radar altimeter data any further.

*Main developer of the SIRAL-2 instrument

Baikonur Surgeon brought huge support to the project

Few days ago engineers detected a non nominal drop of power on one of the Spacecraft antennas.

With the support of an infra red camera supplied by the Russian a "hot spot" was detected in a wave guide (narrow tube) inside the spacecraft. Then, it became a serious assumption that "something", reflecting the radiation, had sneaked in a place where it should not have.

But how to reach this place almost in the "heart" of the spacecraft without putting it in pieces?
The best option to confirm this hypothesis was then to perform an endoscopic examination through this narrow canal.

After having dropped out the option to get an endoscope brought from Europe (too long and too complicated), it was then envisaged to use a local endoscope and possibly a medical one as those used by surgeons to look in lungs or stomach....

Two medical endoscopes were available at the Baikonur. The reply of the Baikonur Hospital to the project's request (with the very efficient support from our Russian colleagues) to borrow one was positive: The loan should be short in order not to disrupt the medical activity and would have to be supported by a medical Surgeon to operate it.

The first question of Tatiana, the Surgeon, when she arrived at the MIK was:
-Where is the patient?
-In the clean room!
...was the answer

She then dressed like a surgeon before an operation with protective gown strapped in the back while engineering personnel in clean rooms put it the other way (strapped on the front) and put latex gloves as she was going to operate on a real patient.

Then the CS-2 examination could start:


A second attempt with a thinner endoscope was the successful one: the "foreign object"could be seen but not identified yet.

Below is a picture of the "foreign object" as seen in the waveguide via the medical endoscope (the "object" is the dark spot at the bottom of the tube, positioned in the curve in fact):

Credits: Richard

After the "object" had been seen, the second step was now to extract it.

For that purpose, Tatiana made the use of a pinch which is a built- in feature of the endoscope and asked for the support of a surgeon-assistant.
Instructions were very clear:
-Push the thumb-handle to open the pinch and pull to close it.


To make it short, this method was successfully applied after several attempts together with the support of an external magnet to facilitate the move of the magnetic object through the wave guide.

After a period of intensive suspense and effort the foreign object eventually went out. This event was welcome by a big applause in clean room.

This is the piece that was extrated the end...


It is not the intention here to enter into technical details. Investigations have obviously continued to answer numerous questions before the problem could be definitely closed from engineering and project standpoints. But the good news is that with all these amazing efforts from ALL the team here in Baikonur, the power of the antenna is now back to normal and the campaign is back on track.

Tatiana was certainly of great help for us and was congratulated by Richard, ESA CS-2 project manager, who gave her a small gold-plated CryoSat-2 pin as a present for her intervention on a very unusual patient.

She just replied:
-Ja ochen' rada pomoch' (i am very glad to help)

and added that this very day was in fact ... Tatiana's day!

TV team visited the project

On 26/01 Dominique (ESA TV Executive Producer) organized to get a Russian TV team on site to record few aspects of our activity in Baikonur.

Short film sequences were shot:
1-At the morning daily meeting.



2-Individual interviews were made in English, Italian and French.
(preparation for Richard's interview below)


3-Activities in the clean room around the spacecrafts with walk-on actors '' figurants'' were also shot (but not very spectacular in fact at the time it happened).

These interviews will be used by ESA for its internal TV programme to be broadcasted just before launch. They could also be used by national TV programmes where short sequences may be edited.

New friends at the MIK

There is significant number of semi wild dogs wandering around in the cosmodrome. They seem to have adapted rather well the cold conditions of this land.

They are of different colors (from beige to brown) but all look like big sized shepherd-type dogs. May be not a pure pedigree but most likely mongrel.

Food at this time of the year in the (frozen) steppe is certainly a challenge. Then, one can guess they are partly fed by the people occupying the facilities of the cosmodrome.

There are several of them at the MIK, and sometimes they come in the morning to sniff our lunch container when the team arrives at the MIK and unload then from the bus.

Few days ago we had the chance to observe from the MIK window 3 beautiful puppies likely born in the vicinity of the site 31.

picture Bjoern credit.

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.

A snowy sunday morning

Dear all,

This will be a short postcard as long as we are working today for preparing an activity that will be run tomorrow. So no new pictures from the Baikonur city today :-(

Instead, a picture showing a rather rare scene in this area: snowfall.
This picture below introduces Ruslan our bus driver with Olga (one of) our escort in the cosmodrome.
Note that with sometimes ice under the snow it may be rather slippery!


Then, the steppe under a thin layer of snow


The bus arriving at the MIK


As you can see, despite the workload and the weather conditions, some of us are remaining very optimistic...


Cheers!
K. B.

Social at Hotel Sputnik

On Saturday 23/01 we had a formal diner where almost all the parties involved in the CryoSat-2 launch campaign were present:

• Rosckosmos (Russian Space Agency)
  
• Baikonur Cosmodrome representatives
• Kosmotrac (Dniepr rocket dealer)
• Yuzhnoe (Dniepr rocket development and manufacturing)
• Cenki (Engineering services)
• European Space Agency
• Astrium (Prime contractor for Cryosat-2)
• Alcatel-Alenia Space (Siral-2 instrument manufacturer)
• CNES (French Space Agency)
• Europ Assistance (medical support during the campaign)

Evening started at the bar around 20h30


A large table to accommodate the 44 of us was set up in the dining room.
Richard, ESA Project Manager, gave the first "toast". Opposite to him, Irina our interpreter. At the right bottom corner, Laura one of the restaurant waitress.


Same table seen from the other end


Bill makes a toast, next to Irina


Then, in the pure Russian tradition, people stand up and raise their glasses:


The meal itself was excellent as shown on the table by this short movie


We all have to thank Hassan, the Lebanese Chef of the Sputnik restaurant and his team for the great evening they prepared for us.



Kirill B. seated in the "Russian corner"


I learned from my neighbors that the "Baikonur spirit" has played a tremendous unifying role in the former CCCP (Soviet Union). This was due to the fact that a wide range of of experts coming from all parts of the country were federated by the same endeavor aiming at getting successful space missions (and this, particularly in the cold war context).

The "Baikonur spirit is still alive and present within us yesterday evening at the Sputnik.
Kirill B.
24/01/2010