Russians declared a "NO-GO" on the launcher

Yesterday evening Russians declared a problem on the Launcher side that will definitely lead to a delay of the launch date.

At that stage, please refer to the main ESA portal or the CryoSat-2 portal for the latest official information when it becomes known.

As a direct consequence, the "dress rehearsal" has been canceled for today. All efforts will now aim to put the Spacecraft within the safest configuration and location for this unexpected storage period. To that respect, it is considered to bring CryoSat-2 back to the MIK on site 31 area B. Then, some "baby sitting" activities will be organised.

Long discussions with the Russians will take place today to reach a credible re-planning. It is premature, without consolidated information to tell more now.
...
Some of the team members may think that they will now spend the rest of their life in Kazakhstan till a successful fix is announced. Just a practical info: the Kazakh cemetery lays just behind the hotel :-)

Credits: Bill

Some others may start packing for a short visit to their home place


But like these happy penguins on an EGSE screen saver, the CryoSat-2 team, beyond the evident disappointment, keeps an excellent moral,


and will show, as usual, in the next days high professional skills and commitment.

MIK gets prepared

The check out room of the site 31 is now configured to perform the dry run on Friday 18th.
Note the 2 seats behind for the restricted audience :-)


On the 1st row, there is the central position position from where

• the Spacecraft Countdown Responsible (Bill)

• and his deputy (Klaus)

will run the show.

On their right, the translator will use the voice loop with the Launch Command Center (LCC) on site 111 (under Russian Control),


On their left, in the corner, will sit the Spacecraft Operations Team, namely Karl and Gerhard.


They are responsible to send commands via full autonomously controlled Automated Procedures (AP) to the Spacecraft during the count down in order to switch it from OFF to Launch mode. They will also support the SC Count Down Responsible reporting on SC the status as well as possible anomalies.

The screen below shows the present status of the spacecraft as it appears to this team. Other screens next to it report the status of received telemetry.


All sections of the Count Down procedure needing the support of the spacecraft operations team are being repeated since the beginning of the week in order to run the rehearsal as smooth as possible tomorrow.

Below 2 pictures shot this morning:
The team preparing for the dress rehearsal


... and polishing the last details to make sure that everybody is aware.

Preparing for the "Dress Rehearsal"

The Dress Rehearsal terminology comes from the theater and indicates that all "players"of the launch will repeat the countdown as if it was the real day of the launch.

A step by step procedure of the Countdown has been written for CryoSat-2. The dress rehearsal is covered by a dedicated section of this procedure and it will take place on Friday 18 February between MIK, ESOC and the Launch Command Center (LCC) under Russian control.

The key players/places in the rehearsal are:

1. Spacecraft Responsible at MIK site 31 on Baikonur cosmodrome
2. Spacecraft Operation Team at MIK site 31 on Baikonur cosmodrome (support to 1)
   
3. Spacecraft Operation Manager (SOM) at ESOC Mission Control Room (MCR), Darmstadt Germany
   
4. Operation Director at ESOC MCR, Darmstadt Germany
5. Project Representative, ESOC MCR, Darmstadt Germany
   
6. LCC at site 111 on Baikonur cosmodrome

Communication means are set as follows:

• MIK <---> ESOC: voice loop or normal phone line/mobile in case of problems

• MIK <---> LCC : voice loop only (Russian Hardware)
  

The MIK, in the middle of this chain between ESOC and LCC, plays a key role on the overall flow of information not only during the rehearsal but also on the launch day.

The goal of this exercise is to repeat step by steps all the activities foreseen on the procedure from Launch minus 9 hours to Launch. As far as it is a dry run, the launch is declared aborted by LCC to MIK at the very last moment and the spacecraft is switched OFF but then,... the rehearsal continues on the ESOC side to simulate a successful launch and orbit injection.

To make it short, covered activities are:

• Check of Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE and NDIU)
• Switch of Power ON on the Spacecraft (SC)
  
• Switch SC to PRE-Launch and then to Launch configurations.
  

(Some of the last) crucial milestones of the count down:

• -15 minutes: start of the automatic sequence of the DNIEPR launcher
• -5 minutes : the last limit for NO-GO from the CryoSat-2 side
  
• -3 minutes : launch command presses the START button!
  

CryoSat-2 wear and Kazakh fashion

Cryosat-2 clothes are Public Relation (PR) items that are worn by the team most of the time during the campaign.
They are mostly Tee shirts, polos and shirts, fleeces and winter jackets.

Since the beginning of the campaign a significant amount of CryoSat-2 stamped clothes and other PR items have also been widely distributed outside the CS-2 team.

Below from left to right, Guldana and Aida from the restaurant waitress team wearing CryoSat-2 gear becomes our best ambassadors!

Credits: Gerhard

But 2 weeks ago, we also got a Kazakh diner at the hotel where all the personnel were wearing traditional Kazakh clothes.
From left to right: Laura, Mira, Hassan, Aida


Credits: Gerhard

We had even the participation of a Kazakh singer playing the Домбра (Dombura a string instrument very popular in central Asia).
On the left, holding the microphone, Horlan from the Restaurant team and her cousin.


To be complete on the restaurant team:

from left to right Laura and Sholpan

Credits: Gerhard

Buajar who opens the restaurant very early for serving breakfast


... and before and after diner at the Sputnic bar:
from left to right Laura, Guldana and Aida

Credits: Gerhard

A BIG BIG BIG thanks to all of them!

Mardi Gras

Since a couple of days we noticed a difference in our morning trip with the bus:

En route, we start to notice the sun rise on the horizon of the steppe.


What a difference from these commuting trips in the dark we had on each morning and evening mid January!

The morning colours of the sun rise on the steppe is absolutely gorgeous.

The second noticeable difference this morning was the soft suspension of the brand new Chinese bus which brought us to the MIK. The Cosmodrome bumpy roads did not only give the final kick to the X-Band ferrite load but apparently also killed the suspensions of our usual bus that needed a serious fixing today. A quick calculation shows that we already ran more than 3000 kms so far with it since the campaign started.

Then, arriving at our usual working place, the sun was fully raised. Despite -14C today and a very slight breeze, it seems that we are going to get a nice day as it as been the case for about 2 weeks now.



Another nice surprise: we received a small present from the MIK cleaning team: freshly prepared Баурса́ки (Baursaki = fried doughnuts), a traditional food preparation of central Asia to be taken with tea or coffee.
Please take some there will be nothing left in few minutes!


so no 'Crepes Suzettes" nor pancakes today, but another way to remind us Mardi Gras ... on the Baikonur cosmodrome!

Day -10 : CryoSat-2 travels to the Silo

No spectacular pictures today, but few more small but significant steps:

• Cryosat-2 has been transported by the "jolly green giant" (another name for the crocodile) from the MIK to the Silo on launch pad 109
  
• The 2 platforms containing the Spacecraft have been mated onto the Rocket
• Platform B has been topped with the PayLoad Fairing.

Edi and I have been authorized this morning to escort the convoy for this about 13,5 kms trip that lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes in total. No speed cameras on the way but nasty holes and bumps that the driver had to minimise for preserving the good health of the spacecraft.

Not a very entertaining trip and much we could do in fact. The only distracting moment was when we saw 2 running guys over passing the convoy on the left side of the road . There were not professional marathoners preparing for the Olympic games but a TV team trying to get ahead for getting a nice shot of the convoy. This just gives an idea of the speed we ran.


No pictures of the convoy nor the Silo can be published as we are getting closer to the military "sphere".

Instead you can just imagine this trip on the model of the cosmodrome below.
as photographed in the Gagarin museum on 30/01/2010.
Just follows the road in white:

• Departure: The MIK building, one of the black buildings (next to the large Soyuz-2 rocket launch site 31 on the right)
  
• Arrival: Launch pad 109 on the left where the green and gray rocket is (2/3) ejected from the Silo

As said above the distance via the road is about 13,5 kms while the shortest distance between these 2 points is ca 8 kms. That is the distance we shall be at the launch day.


In parallel to this transport, few racks of Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) were moved to the Bunker (i.e on launch pad 109 but 30 meters far from the Silo) in order to connect the Spacecraft once in the Silo to the MIK.
These equipment

• the Front End EGSE
• and the NDIU (enabling the connection with the ESOC, the ESA Operation Centre)

were successfully installed and a satisfactory connection was established.

Here under, Karl connecting the EGSE in the bunker:


From this point, CryoSat-2 will progressively prepare for its own life, before the "big"trip...

Sunday 14th February postcard

Dear All,

After 1 month in Baikonur and intense work, health and moral is good, in addition we have had a full week end.

The weather is still very cold, particularly on the morning (-25C yesterday), but Sunday afternoon was sunny without wind and many citizens, as well as the CryoSat-2 team, really enjoyed to be outside.

On Saturday evening Hassan, the Chef of the Sputnik, prepared an Asian diner that we "informally"shared with our Russian Colleagues from Roscosmos, Kosmotras and Yuzhnoe. As usual, many toasts were raised and the general atmosphere was extremely warm and friendly.

To counteract the side effects of the vodka, our Doctor, Andrei, "prescribed" on Sunday morning to all of us a glass of Shubat (fermented camel milk).
We were not guinea pigs as long as he tried the medicine on him first!


Andrei managed to get the home made and bottled shubat from Turyatam, a Kazakh village on the other side of the Baikonur gate, an area which is not permitted to us. This product is not available on the Baikonur market for and unknown reasons. This is a piety when we know all the potential virtues of such a natural product and the lactoferrin, its active principle, in particular.
To be honest, there are different opinions/reactions on shubat taste... but it is milk looking, no particular smell, slightly acidic and sparkling (due to the fermentation and its weak alcohol content).

As every Sunday, I am glad to send you also few other pictures from the city life.
Valentine's Day, offers a unique opportunity to show all kind of stands and and items that can be found on the Baikonur market on February 14th.

Hope you can pick up the right one in this lot!


So, Happy Valentine! and,

From Russia with love.

Kirill B.

PS:
As a spin off of Valentine's day or not, many weddings took place during the week end.
We did witness quiet a few "wedding decorated" cars noisily and proudly patrolling the city large avenues.
This is one of the most elaborated ornament one could observe :-)

Baikonur bells

Few seconds of the very typical Saint George's bells as you could listen to them ringing in a sunny Sunday morning.



Considering the large audience inside the church, Saint George of Baikonur is certainly not a "'cathedral in the desert".

But there is a reason for that today. This Sunday is a special day for the Russian Orthodox church called Прощёное воскресéнье (Sunday of the pardon). This celebration, formally 50 days before Easter, announces the beginning of the fasting period which starts as from Ash Wednesday (...but may be not at the Sputnik).