Purging sucesfull

Purging the low pressure branch of the Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) is a nominal operation. It is made necessary by the CryoSat-2 AOCS design to prevent a pressure build up in the low pressure branch which is not desirable for several reasons. The pressure build up is caused by the unavoidable leak of the mini pressure regulator between the High Pressure and the Low Pressure branches of the AOCS. This purging operation is planned to be done regularly once CryoSat-2 will be in Orbit. Due to the unexpected storage period duration, since the tank has been fully pressurized, it was necessary to perform the same purging operation on the ground today.

The snapshot below shows the Pressures, before the purging:

• in the High Pressure Branches A and B respectively HPT-A=267,1 and HPT-B=267,6 Bars
• in the Low Pressure Branch A and B respectively LPT-A =3,6 and LPT -B=4 Bars.

The procedure says that the purging needs to be done when the Pressure in the Low Pressure Branch is above 3,5 Bars. Therefore Low Pressure Branches A and B have to be purged today.

The short movie below, shot on the Control Ground System Screen, shows in real time the purging of the Low Pressure Branch B by mean of thruster activation (OCT B1) for 10 seconds. The pressure drops from 4 to 2,7 Bars (unfortunately, due to movie conversion, the display of LPT-B Pressure is hardly readable, but the appearing and disappearing green rectangle shows the 10 seconds thruster activation that causes this pressure drop)

1 hour later, the pressure in branches A and B stabilizes and the final measurements can be recorded (LPT-A and B = 2,9 bars).

Purging successful!
Let's only wish now that next time, this operation will be done not on the ground,...but in space :-)

Note: This activity was performed by Gehrard from ASTRIUM, arrived at Baikonur on Friday 12/3/2010. We are therefor, as from this date, a team of 2 to babysit Cryosat-2.

Gagarin's Summer House

This is may be the simplest and the most charming monument of the Baikonur city. The Gagarin's Summer House (or Гагаринская беседка) sits on the Syr Daria bank. It is enclosed in a little park together with an hotel for VIPs. The whole area is under military control and an authorisation is needed to visit it.
Once you got it, you will first meet with the watcher and his dog (Foo) at the gate.
Then, just follow the dog which is so enthusiastic and proud to take the lead in order to show visitors a place it knows by heart...

The Gagarin's summer house is an open wooden structure, slightly elevated, painted in light blue and white, organized along a long North/South corridor gallery.

There are two bowed observatory platforms, one at each extremity.

Despite the kiosk-like appearance, the purpose here is not to shelter a wind music ensemble "al fresco", but rather to offer a gorgeous panorama on the Syr Daria river and, beyond it, on the Kazakh steppe.

credits: Richard
Outside, a central staircase permits to get down almost to the river.

Did something special happened here?
Yes. On the 10th of April 1961 an ad hoc commission met at this place and decided who, from Titov or Gagarin , would fly the 1st manned mission in mankind history 48 hours later...

credits: Richard
History is gone but nowadays stays a delicate piece of architecture which contrasts so much with the traditional massive constructions from the "Soviet era".
To find the way back, don't worry, just follow Foo trough the little park,

You will retrieve the way to the gate.
When I told the master that his dog reminded me the wolf of "Peter and the Wolf", the Prokofiev's musical tale, he just laughed loudly. As long as I have forgotten his name, I decided then to call him "Dedushka'' (grand father).

Dedushka is one of the most sympathetic person I met in Baikonur. After the short conversation we had, he invited me to come back at spring when the trees and flowers of the garden provides more colours.
I am glad to share this invitation with other CS-2 colleagues if we are still there.

Despite all these explanations, I still don't have a clue why this place is called "Gagarin's summer house"...

A short status on our baby

You may have forgotten, but we have a full spacecraft ready to fly, in storage! This brief note will just tell you how things are going here.
Since 2 weeks now, the area B of building 40, where the spacecraft stands is inspected by ESA and Kosmotras almost every morning.
Have you noticed the spy camera?

The inspection takes place around 10:30 a.m. and is performed in parallel to the cleaning of the area B (including storage area).
Then, some direct measurements on the Spacecraft are made, through 2 break out boxes mainly to check the voltage of the battery (nominal value is 30V).
Very stable since the beginning of the storage.

The battery thermistor resistance measurement also permits to estimate the temperature. This value normally correlates with the environmental data displayed on the wall of the room.
The clock is never on time:-)

All these inspection and measurements data are recorded on an "as run procedure'' that will later on fill the campaign Log Book.
In addition, Area B environmental data are provided by the Russians on on a weekly basis
So far so good.
...
But the funny thing this morning at the MIK was the poster that replaced (so quickly) the yesterday poems of the Women's day:

Basically this posted page says with some humor that as from 9th of March, SMS, poems, sweets, and flowers are over, and life is back to normal with usual shouts, fights and separations:
Sentences like:
- why you haven't called?
- How can it be that you forgot me!
- Ah, you don't like me any more!
- At 6:00 pm we go to my mother place,
- Where is the fur coat, you promised!
- I want it exactly as it looks on the advertising
- With whom did you talk the whole evening?
...should be managed by men without heart attacks! :-)

Orion meets Neptune

There are few examples of the typical "Soviet architecture" style in Baikonur. The Orion swimming pool (together with the the first school built in the city), seems to be the most remarkable. representative of a style that is now vanishing with the collapse of the Soviet Union. A new style corresponding to the new time is surfacing as showed for instance by new kindergarten project built on road leading to the airport.

The Soviet union was promoting sports and used the number of won Olympic medals as part of its propaganda to justify the value of the regime. In this context, sport facilities were developed everywhere to prepare high level sportsmen and women. Baikonur as a symbol of the Soviet Union in the area of space development was treated with the same policy than other soviet cities.

The "Orion" building (erected in TDB) should be seen as the vestige of this epoch and is still considered as the "pride" of the city.

An artist impression of the initial project:
which looks slightly dfferent in fact from what it looks like today

A single parallelepipedic body is covered by a curved roof suggesting a rolling wave facing the Syr Daria river on the east side.
2 levels inside: under the biggest height of the roof, a 50 meter Olympic pool and a mezzanine under the smallest height that accommodates a large fitness room. The fitness room as a nice view on the pool.

View of the eastern facade (Syr Daria side) with large window bays, bringing light to the pool:

View of the western facade (city side):
The access to the building is made on this side.

The entrance is decorated by very delicate stained glass showing some sea motives.

Between the 2 levels: few other beautiful pieces of stained glass with dominant blue and red colors, can be seen when climbing the 2 staircases on each side (North and South) of the building.

From the top of the Southern staircase, a superb view on the Olympic pool,

and on the opposite side, a view on the various diving boards.
After a discussion with "experts", the understanding of the wall decoration remains cryptic: A mixture of Rusalka, Neptune (but without his trident), and Orion constellation? or may be a pure fantasy from the artist?

...getting down, the "cafe Olympia" waits for you and reminds the first Greek Olympics heroes. All cups and trophies won by the Baikonur teams over the years are displayed in the window...

A last touch of refinement comes when you order a drink. The "coffee set", for instance, reminds you that you are not in the middle of the desert, but well in Baikonur, the "space city"'and, on the other side of the cup you will learn that thecity is 50 years old only!

A good alternative to the beach, no? :-)

March 8th in Russia: Don't miss it!

On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. Following discussions in 1913, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since.

This 8th of March is strongly anchored in the Russian culture since the Bolshevik revolution in October 1917. It was highlighting at the time of the Soviet Union the role of women in the communism, their heroism at war time to support the Fatherland, their active role in the "friendship among the people" and their struggle for peace... Women's day has become a bank holiday in Russia in 1965 only!
This important date has even been given a street name in Baikonur!

Since the collapse of the Soviet union, the scope of the celebration in Russia reflects more sweet feelings (see text below) whereas in other countries, 8th of March put more emphasis on serious issues women are facing throughout the world.
Some former soviet republics, like Armenia, has dropped women's day to replace it by a "motherhood and beauty" day.

In Baikonur, posters announcing this event are blooming on the city and buildings walls. They are often made on the same model. Few examples are showed below:
This one at the Orion mentions the spring as well, with the presence of tulips,

On the cosmodrome at MIK site 31, colorless posters reminds the rather sad layout of the former "CCCP" publications contrasting with quiet lyric and charming texts written by the management.

In Holliwood, a Baikonur discotheque, the poster advertises 4 days of dancing. The rest cannot be translated for the good reputation of this publication :-)

At the Sputnik hotel, the atmosphere sounds slightly more romantic: a hand-drawn poster by the "men staff", displays a poem dedicated to the "ladies" of the hotel:

The text says: March 8th, Happy celebration!
Women's heart, arms, caress, love, how would the world be empty without them!.
Dear ladies, we wish you all happiness, health and success. On behalf of the [Sputnik] men.

On this date, the ladies of the hotel usually receive presents and the single sputnik customer on this very day has met the tradition on the behalf of all the CryoSat-2 team.
It is not sure that he will attend the continuation of the tradition at Hollywood :-)

Sunday 7th of March Poscard

Dear All,
This was a funny configuration of the breakfast table at the restaurant this morning.

This just reflects that all of the CryoSat-2 team, except I, has now left Baikonur. Colleagues progressively will come back when the campaign will resume. It is really a piety to have temporarily lost this "dream team" and on the top of it their very good company. But be sure the morale is good and the "baby sitting" continues normally.

As usual, Sunday offers a good chance for a long walking tour. It was unexpectedly raining this morning when leaving the Hotel, reminding a typical mid November Dutch weather.

Last week I promised to go to the beach but of course I had to downgrade this ambition. Instead, I visited to the "Orion baccein". The picture below will just give you a flavour of it. In fact, this topic does deserve a full message. You will then know more in the next days!

A bit later, I unexpectedly met with the wolf of "Петя и Волк" (Peter and the Wolf). This will also be the subject of seaprate note. A bit of suspense is needed to keep the audience in this rather quiet phase.

But the most important thing today in Baikonur is the preparation of the women's day tomorrow, 8th of March. Apparently it is a very important celebration all over the former Soviet Union. Flower sales is definitely a good business today as long as tomorrow most of the activity in Baikonur will be sopped.

...but not for all because I shall visit our baby tomorrow as usual, and most important is that we are also preparing for a purging of the AOCS (Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystem) Low Pressure Branch in order to prevent an excess of pressure that could damage the thrusters.
In other words, "On purge bébé".

Keep in touch,
Poka!

Kirill B.

PS:
There is still a bit of road before launch...but adapting is our strength! :-)