CryoSat-2 Launch Campaign

Last message

2010-04-13T07:14:00.016+05:00

Dear all,
Today all members of the CryoSat-2 team will fly back to their respective bases: Friedrichshasfen for ASTRIUM and Noordwijk for ESA.
The custom clearance has been obtained for our campaign equipment as well to return home.
So it is time now to say good bye.
To celebrate this moment I have a last surprise for all of you: A shot of these freshly opened Подснeжник, Snowdrops (Perce-neige). These photos were made yesterday 12/4 in the park of the Cosmonaut Hotel.

The break out of these first flowers in Baikonur beautifully materialises the seasonal transition and the renewal of the nature. So After the formal end of the CS-2 campaign, life continues and each of us will now be assigned to new activities or new projects. A new life will start.

After 102 messages published more or less in real time, it is time now to close this blog. For those interested to re-visit such or such topic of the campaign, all what has been posted so far will remain on line. May be after proof reading and few corrections, a DVD may be considered to capture these information and pictures but this has still to be confirmed.

In the mean time, I want to thank those who were supporting us during this 3 month launch campaign and those who have showed regular interest to our activities sending feed back from time to time. This has been much appreciated.

On my side, it is has been extremely interesting experience and a pleasure to share these moments with you.

I take this opportunity given by this last message to wish you all the best!

Poka

Kirill B.

PS:
I forgot to tell you that after 4 days in space our spacecraft is working extremely well. After SIRAL switch on, the first echoes of the radar altimeter have been received. You can then easily imagine the excitement at ESOC the last days. DORIS, the unit providing precise positioning of the spacecraft was performing also very well. To date, the LEOP* has now been successfully completed. The Commissioning phase that will prepare the calibration of the instrument and and hand over of the Spacecraft to the user community has started and will last till next June.
Let's wish that the success we have known so far will continue and soon scientists, after processing the CS-2 data, will be able to better understand the environmental changes we are facing today on planet Earth.

*LEOP Launch and Early Orbit Phase

Gagarin's day

2010-04-12T09:32:00.048+05:00

In Baikonur, April the 12th is celebrated each year to remember Yuri Gagarin maiden flight to space in 1961. It is a bank holidays for most of the workers of the cosmodrome. Due to the dramatic plane crash which killed the Polish President and the top army executives last Saturday near by Smolensk, Russian authorities declared April the 12th as a national day of mourning to show compassion to their Polish neighbours. Therefore all celebrations for the 49th anniversary of the Gagarin's day were canceled in Baikonur.
However, this morning the Korolev memorial was decorated with few flowers.
Here under is a picture of the memorial dedicated to the man, S. P. Korolev (kept under secrecy for a long time by the Soviet regime), without which the Russian space programme would not have reached its fame and the rank it still has today.

Another important point of commemoration today could have been the memorial the city of Baikonur devoted to Gagarin first flight just opposite to the Baikonur first school.

Credits Julio
"On 12/4/1961 for the first time in the world the launch of a spaceship with a man on board, citizen of the Soviet Union, was achieved".

The CryoSat-2 team was invited for a guided tour a Cosmonaut hotel. There are now many buildings on this historical area were the cosmonauts and politicians use to stay. Constructions are surrounded by a park where some open air sport facilities and swimming pool are available.
The main building we visited today was build in 1968. A nice monumental mosaic on the eastern immediately captures visitor's attention. This modern hotel accommodates today astronauts and cosmonauts just before their flight.

At the reception, stained glass window reminds the style of interior decoration as it was already seen at different places in the city and at the Orion swimming pool in particular.

The quarantine area is the section of the hotel reserved for accommodating the astronauts just before their mission. It is a tradition that astronauts write their names on the door of their room. Here is the door of suite where lived two of the three astronauts who took off April 2010 for the International Space Station.

Outside, the hotel, there is park which is certainly very nice when the spring is a bit more advanced. Anyway, despite the stormy weather, we had the chance for a last view on the Syr Daria river on the platform at the very end of the Cosmonaut Path. As you already now know each cosmonaut has his/her own tree along this path to commemorate his/her flight.

Today 12th April 2010 is the perfect day for a last picture aside the Gagarin tree which should be exactly...49 years!
Trees planted along this path are elms (Вяз)

C праздником и С днем рождения!

Living costs

2010-04-11T11:23:00.036+05:00

Price of few items or services as seen in Baikonur city in April 2010 are provided below. All selected examples are for information only and may vary. The selected exchange rate is 1€=40 rubles

Basic standard salary ca 9000 rubles (225€)
Rent for standard apartment 3000 rubles (75€)
Bus ticket 8 rubles (20 cents of euro)
Taxi ride 20 t0 50 rubles per person (0,5 to 1,25€)
Second hand sedan car Lada (BAZ 21091) 1996 40.000 rubles (1000€)

Man shoes 800 rubles (20€)
Women boots ca 3000 to 4000 rubles (75 to 100€)

Newspaper Baikonur 11rubles (28 cents of euro)
0,5 liter vodka from 100 (rubles 2,5€)

0,5 L beer at terrace 35 rubles (88 cents of euro)

Fresh Uzbek Bread at the market 12 rubles (30 cents of euro)

Haircut (man) 100 rubles (2,5 €)

100g black chocolate 30 rubles (75 cents of euro)

Ice cream 12 to 20 rubles (30 to 50 cents of euro)
Soap 100g 40 rubles (1 €)
3 course dinner in restaurant from 400 to 800 rubles (10 to 20€)
Fresh coffee cup at the market 10 rubles (25 cents of euro)
4Gb SD memory cards 690rubles (17,25€)
Computer optical mouse with USB plug 200 ruble (5€)

no comment

2010-04-11T09:22:00.025+05:00

Turyatam (KZ) April 2010 - Mosque in construction (to be ready by September)

Last trip to the MIK

2010-04-10T09:04:00.079+05:00

Today is our last trip to the MIK where the packing of the 36 tons of equipment that have been needed for the campaign will be completed. Only Edi will come back on next Monday to get the custom clearance needed for shipping back the equipment to Germany.
After 3 months of almost daily commuting by bus between the hotel and MIK, we run more than 6000kms in the steppe. Through this period, we saw the different colours of this semi desert landscape shifting from white, to reddish and slightly green now. Many pictures have been already published to address this side aspect of the campaign. But this last trip gives the opportunity to remember this significant time spent in the steppe and report few of the unusual facets of our daily trips. As it can be easily understood pictures are difficult to shot from the bus as the roads are extremely bumpy and full of potholes...

You may think that steppe is completely flat, it is not entirely true. There is a bit of relief here and there.

There is even one hill which funnily reminds the great Egyptian sphynx of Gyza (with the broken nose) ... an older Kazakh version of it? :-)

You may want to see it from the front, just to be sure...

Another omnipresent element of the landscape is the only tree which grows in this semi desert area: the Саксаул Saksaul or Haloxylon. The Haloxylon Aphyllum, or Black Saksaul, is likely the variety found around the Baikonur area. We saw few of them during our trips to the MIK mainly along the roads. They also contribute to break the monotony of these flat landscapes.

Around Turyatam, domestic animals are easily visible and part of the daily life of the city: beyond pack of semi wild dogs, you will see cows, goats and camels ...
(note the tied legs of the camel preventing him running)

Camel is definitely a fascinating animal despite its lunatic character (it won't hesitate to spit on you when it is not happy!). Apparently this young one below was not so impressed by our encounter :-)

During the winter period, animals were rare and not so easy to observe: magpies, pigeons, Corsac foxes, wild horses... were the ones visible in the coldest and harshest conditions we had. This completely changed when the spring broke through. Susliks, Steppe eagle, falcons, crows, hoopoe, wagtail, seagulls... could be often observed.
Of course this list is not complete and photos were quasi impossible to shot from the bus.
The picture below shows wild horses grazing in front of launch pad 109 just one day after the CryoSat-2 launch.

From the bus we could also observe funny constructions like this one: something between a minaret and a hunting elevated post; No clue what it is used for...

The cosmodrome is also crossed by a rather dense railways network. Trains departing each morning from the Gorodskaja central station surely (but slowly) transport thousands of workers who operate the cosmodrome the whole year!

Some other trains are dedicated to rocket or equipment transport.

As a consequence of this traffic, there are numerous small or big railways stations on the cosmodrome and people living there to operate and maintain this network. Here under is the Minskaja railways station shot on 20/02/2010 when we brought back CryoSat-2 from Launch pad 109 to the MIK for the baby sitting period.

Passing the Donskaja railways station on the same day...the Station Manager was greeting the convoy.

Trains and locomotives have definitely been part of our daily landscape traveling to the MIK.
As it was mentioned before, the roads are in rather poor conditions and car accidents happen as we saw on 1/02/2010. Along the roads, small monuments remind those who lost their lives on the cosmodrome after car crashes.

To reach the MIK we had to stop at several controls. This was rather easy due to the escort team (1 or 2 persons traveling with us). Here is the control on the on-going trip to enter the Cosmodrom. This border is flagged with the beautiful Gagarin emblem (note the tracking station just behind).

On the return trip here under, the control to to enter to the Baikonur city. Between those 2 control points it is the territory of Kazakhstan.

The other side of this control shows a monumental statue inviting travelers to stop in case they forget...

These trips comes to an end now and we shall certainly remember the positive side of it: the beauty of the steppe as it surprised us on the first day. On the the other hand we are happy not to board anymore on the ГАЗель or GAZelle minibus which is really reacting on the road like... an antelope!

Few pictures of the CryoSat-2 launch

2010-04-09T11:54:00.016+05:00

Credits: ESA (all pictures)
DNIEPR rocket, Baikonur Launch pad 109, 8/4/2010 - 19:57

Launch successful

2010-04-08T19:44:00.010+05:00

Bye Bye CryoSat!

Credits: Raphael
As long as you have now completed your life on Earth, have another long life in space and a fruitful mission.
Don't forget from time to time to give us GOOD NEWS : We do need it :-)

Launch day

2010-04-08T06:32:00.049+05:00

For official information related to the CryoSat-2 launch please refer to ESA or CryoSat-2 web sites.

For the main milestones of the Count Down till lift off, please refer to the Campaign status on 6/4/2010.

For the main events after lift off please refer to Dniepr mission profile.

Watch the broadcasting of CryoSat-2 launch live.
Lift off @ 19:57 Baikonur (15:57 CEST)

Updates from launch team in Baikonur to be released later on today on this page.
All time below are Baikonur time (CEST= Baikonur time -4 hours).

7h45 am local weather conditions: +8C, very slight breeze, sunny, no clouds
9:41 am Preparing boarding the bus to the cosmodrome (Stephane ESA Photographer)

10:38 am Passing (on the left) road to launch pad 109 (view from bus)

10:54 am Daily debriefing

11:20 am Observing launch pad 109 from second floor of building 40, site 31 (at the silo, crane on truck available to remove "silo cover")

11:57 am Count Down Procedure (CDM) started. Launch -8:00h. Team picture.

13:34 Installing CS-2 mascot : Polar bears in Baikonur, Penguins at ESOC (step not foreseen in the CDM procedure:-)

14:01 CryoSat-2 powered on
15:07 Local weather conditions: +21C, very slight breeze, hazy (launch pad 109 under left the lamp post, shot taken from building 40 second floor)

17:30 Silo cover removed (artist view of the launch pad as it should look like now)

17:54 Local weather conditions: +20,9C, slight breeze, good visibility to launch pad, becomes cloudy
19:15 Local weather conditions: +17,5C, slight breeze, hazy but good visibility to launch pad

After a perfect lift off, separation and the acquisition of the first telemetry data at ESOC:

20:25 CryoSat-2 launch is declared Successful !!! a lot of emotion here at the MIK .

Just a sip of champagne (not Kazakh but French this time) before a celebration with our Russian colleagues at the Hotel Cosmonaut

Certainly life memories for the "Dream Team" after this fascinating adventure ...

and, en passant hello from MIK to all our friends from ESTEC, ESOC, ASTRIUM, THALES, ALENIA SPACE, CNES...sitting at the moment at ESOC.

...to be continued

1st orbit Ground station coverage

2010-04-07T11:27:00.019+05:00

During the first orbit*, the most exciting thing will be the acquisition of the first CryoSat-2 telemetry data at ESOC through the various tracking stations.

Just after launch, the following stations will track CryoSat-2:

+12min00 Malindi AOS (Acquisition of Signal)
+21min36 Malindi LOS (Loss of Signal)
+31min28 Troll AOS (Troll is located in Antarctica and co-located with the Troll research station)
43min28 Troll LOS
1h26min13 Svalbard AOS
1h26min31 Kiruna AOS (later on Science data will be acquire by Kiruna)
...

The separation, occurring at +16min28, should normally perfectly fit the Malindi coverage. So if everything goes as planned, less than 20 minutes after launch, our colleagues from ESOC, the ESA Control Center in Darmstadt, should be able to "listen" CS-2 for the first time...

*An orbit lasts approximately 1hour and 30 minutes

DNIEPR Mission profile

2010-04-07T10:39:00.026+05:00

In addition to the Count Down partly described in Campaign status 06/04/2010, the DNIEPR mission profile may be of interest for those willing to follow the launch tomorrow*.

+5 sec 1st stage motor ignition and lift off
+1min50 1st stage separation
+5min09 PayLoad Fairing separation

+5min54 2nd stage motor shutdown, 2nd stage separation
+6min00 3rd stage motor ignition, start of the 180 deg. rotation of the Upper Stage (US)
+6min07 End of the 180 deg. rotation of the US, 3rd stage motor enters to throttled-back operation mode
16min25 Platform A and B (with Gas Dynamic Shield) separation (not quiet exactly represented on the picture below because CS-2 has the "'Long Space Head Module" configuration)
16min28 CryoSat-2 Separation
17min 09 Upper stage propellant depletion (end of DNIEPR Mission?)

Here below is an artist impression of the separation:

* A live TV broadcasting of the CryoSat-2 launch should be available on the ESA web site tomorrow (TBC)

Campaign status 7/4/2010

2010-04-07T09:19:00.028+05:00

Launch -1 Day
The following activities are planned today:

Battery top up - completed
Off to Launch Mode (check of side A) - completed
Update of EGSE parameters - completed
Cleaning up points noted at the Dress Rehearsal 06/04 - completed
Russian State Commission Meeting (19:00) - green light given at 19:30

In parallel, packing continued during the day...

Later on today...

Ironing uniform for the D day...

Russian State Commission meeting at Cosmonaut Hotel

Just after the meeting
Edi, Bill, Alexander, Klaus.
From left to right

Campaign status 6/4 /2010

2010-04-06T11:06:00.030+05:00

Launch - 2 Days
Sequence of important events today @ Baikonur time (-4h for CEST):

10:47 Arrival of CS-2 team at MIK site 31, Baikonur

11:07 launch pad 119 observation with binocular from MIK second floor: it was possible to see clearly a man dressed with a long white clothing. This type of gear is not the usual staff worn by the "Silo operators". Our best guess is that it is the Priest blessing the Rocket (slightly earlier than expected).

Dress rehearsal took place:

11:57 Count down started (8 hours before Launch)

12:12 Contact established with ESOC* (voice and time checks)
13:55 Spacecraft (SC) Switch-on

16:12 SC set in Pre-Launch mode completed
17:50 MIK dumps and clears on-board System log
18:00 Team swap at ESOC, Team A at console
18:40 1st Launcher time synchronization

19:07 Command from LCC** to switch to internal power
19:07 MIK confirms to ESOC "GO for launch"
19:17 MIK states "CryoSat-2 Go for launch" (launch-40 mn)
19:20 2nd launcher lime synchronization
19:20 SC in Launch Mode
19:42 Start of Launcher sequence ( launch -15mn)
19:49 Readiness of Ground stations for first acquisition
19:52 Last possibility for an abort launch by ESA (Launch -5mn)
19h54 "Start" button pressed at LCC (Launch -3mn)
19:56 Launch Readiness 1 minute from LCC
19:57 Aborted launch today because it is a simulation!

The CS-2 launch animation was played at "T=+5 seconds or Engine ignition/ lift off) and the Count Down Manual procedure was continued at ESOC till separation.
The dress rehearsal went very smoothly (few minor things will be addressed at the debriefing and fixed by the 8/4). This gives confidence on the readiness of all parties involved in the launch.

*ESOC European Space Control Center
**LCC: Launch Control Center

Campaign status 5/4/2010

2010-04-05T09:15:00.060+05:00

Launch -3 days
Last Friday the following activities on the spacecraft were successfully completed:

Full Battery charging (33,8V)
Full check of sides A and B

Today:
Preparation at MIK for Dress Rehearsal: Count Down Manual procedure last checks, Room set up and connections check up...

In parallel the packing continues.

Next milestones before launch:

Dress Rehearsal 6/4/2010 (see Preparing for the Dress Rehearsal and MIK gets prepared)
Final checks: 7/4/2010: Spacecraft Power on, Battery re-charging if necessary, side B again?. No venting foreseen, +...
Russian State Commission "green light" 7/4/2010

...
This short message leaves room to report some parallel news about life at the MIK site 31.
As it has been already said for the city, MIK also prepares for the seasonal transition and the few pieces of land around the buildings have been nicely "groomed".

Noteworthy to mention: today there is no water at the MIK. Russians switched from winter to summer the water distribution system on Site 31 (including our building 40). This activity will necessitate some seasonal maintenance that will cut off the water distribution for roughly 24 hours. No real impact on us as long as we rely on bottled water, and sufficient hygiene water has been foreseen for this period.

We were also informed that a safety drill will take place today at 14:00 meaning that all people in buildings on site 31 have to leave and gather at the meeting point. By the way we never noticed the alarm in the offices... but we were compliant with the evacuation request. Fortunately this activity, we were just informed about today, was not planned for tomorrow, in such a case this would have seriously interfered with our dress rehearsal!

Last but not least, our MIK "friends" have grown up a bit since last January and are doing well as they have evidently found enough food in the vicinity to pass the winter... They are still very timid and it is very difficult to approach them.

Easter

2010-04-04T13:25:00.086+05:00

Dear all,
On the top of the Easter celebrations today, the most amazing event to be reported was the fantastic weather change we experienced in the course of last week. In one word we have witnessed in few days the transition from the cool to the warm period. For instance, by sunny afternoons, the temperature raises now higher than +20C and we don't need anymore our black CryoSat-2 winter jackets to walk in the Baikonur streets. But don't believe that we can now stroll about incognito: we still wear the CS-2 fleece uniform :-)!

In the sky have appeared the first ballets of swallows. Funnily enough small bats are also visible in day light in the streets. On the Syr Daria river, the "frog concert'' has started...
Green has started to become a familiar colour in the city as we can notice growing grass on the sandy ground aside the pavement.

Blossoms on trees are exploding everywhere.
Тополь/Populus/Peupliers

Вяз/Elm/Orme?

Липа/Tilia/tilleul?

Birds are actively nesting

but be careful... cats as well!

This time it is not a joke, along the river, the beach is open and some people enjoyed it as it was almost +30C today in the afternoon !
Natural hot springs, water containing sulfur about +30C, very good and indicated for skin!

On the cosmodrome as well, life has resumed after the cold winter (particularly cold according to the Baikonurtsi). Birds (eagle, falcon...) and small rodents (susliks) are being more and more visible during our daily commuting trips. This is the evident sign that the food chain is again in place.

So Spring is definitely there! ... and this nice week end has been most welcome and relaxing for the 'Baikonur" team after 12 weeks of launch campaign.

For the CS-2 team (including our ESTEC, ESOC, ASTRIUM, THALES ALENIA, CNES colleagues and friends) there is an important week to come culminating with the launch on April 8th. We are all getting progressively fully prepared for this very important moment and looking forward sharing this extraordinary experience with you.

Keep in touch

Poka

Kirill B.

PS:
Before I forget, last but not least, Happy Easter from Kazakhstan !

no comment

2010-04-03T18:51:00.030+05:00

Baikonur city 03/04/2010 - 16:54 (Suslik)

Russian Orthodox Church prepares for Easter

2010-04-03T16:32:00.106+05:00

The Baikonur church actively prepared on Saturday 3/4 for the important Orthodox Feast tomorrow: Пасха. At the church entrance, on the right, the typical bread for Easter is on sale. Some pieces are bought and put as offers on the altar inside the church.

When entering the church, above the entrance door, a poster widely says: Христос Воскресе: Christ is resurrected.

In Russian language, the word resurrection (Воскресение) has been extended to the meaning of the 7th day of the week: so Воскресение means both Sunday and Resurrection. In French and Italian, Sunday is the day of the "Master'' based on the Latin root "Dominus", while in English and German it is the day of the Sun...
If the origin of the Russian population comes from Northern Europe, the religion has come from the South West and Greek Orthodox influence (Constantinople) in particular. The Cyrillic alphabet (based partly on the old Greek alphabet) has been created by the two Greek brothers Cyril and Methodius in the IXth century to translate (parts of) the Bible into Old Church Slavonic language. Note for instance the similarity between the Greek and the Russian spellings for the word Christ (Khristos): Χριστός in Greek and Христос in Russian...
Icon of Saint Cyril/Kirill/Кирилл holding the "Slavic"alphabet.

The outcome of all these efforts was the conversion of the Slavic people in the south to Christianity. Vladimir I of Kiev adopted the Byzantine Rite Christianity in 988, and later on Russia converted to the "Orthodox Christianity". Russian Orthodox Church is the main religion in Russia today.

Inside the church, a small shop sales candles, small icons, sorted by names, explaining the life of the saints, Easter chocolate (with the Baikonur St George church picture on the packaging), rings, crosses...
Everything is ready for the long Easter ceremony that will start this evening.
The grave of the Christ is well materialized and still covered with a mourning cloth,

In the afternoon, a young boy rehearses loudly the long texts (litanies?) he will have to read during the ceremony..., in the meantime, few people pray in the church, make offerings and lighten candles.

What is striking (for us) leaving the church is the size of the tank of "blessed water, which is drunk by quiet of a few of the attendees at the end of the mass.

The Easter ceremonies will start on 3/4 at 22:30 to end on 4/4 at 16:00.

Soyuz TM-18 Launch

2010-04-02T10:51:00.045+05:00

Aside CryoSat-2 launch preparation, a manned mission to the International Space Station (ISS) took off from Baikonur Cosmodrom Launch pad Nr.1 at 10:04 sharp this morning 02/04/2010. Two Russian cosmonauts (Alexander Skortsov, Mihail Kornienko) and one US woman astronaut (Tracy Caldwell Dyson) were on board the Soyuz TM-18 capsule.

CryoSat team was invited to see the astronauts when they left the Cosmonaut hotel (just behind the Sputnik Hotel) this morning at ca 4:00 am to prepare for the flight. The team also had the permission to see the launch of the Soyuz rocket.
Pass on the windscreen of the CryoSat-2 bus.

The attendance was very large, including Baikonur school pupils . This is normal for manned missions.

A debriefing team informed in real time the public about the main events of the Countdown (even long time after the launch).

A closer view of the rocket on the launch pad.

Credits: Klaus
... and few minutes before launch, when "arms'' are opened.

Credit: Klaus
Below is a short movie of the launch. It is (always) very impressive.

The booster separation was well visible.
This crew will be be one of the first to enjoy a new element of the ISS that has been integrated last February with one of the last American shuttle missions: the Cupola. This element will, among other purposes, increase the habitability of the ISS providing astronauts, thanks to the 7 large windows, beautiful and relaxing views on Earth and the cosmos.

After this successful and very beautiful launch, let's wish to this crew a very fruitful mission !

CryoSat-2 at the Silo

2010-04-01T14:12:00.038+05:00

Launch-7 days
Activities planned for today have been successfully completed.
Again, not much more that was already said in Day-10:CS-2 travels to the Silo can be added.

The transport from MIK site 31 to Launch pad 109 was safely performed in 1 hour 15 minutes to run the 13.5 kilometers distance.
The convoy here is approaching the launch pad 109 (on the right).

Credits: Klaus

In parallel of this transport, the ESA/ASTRIUM team had to get the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) and the NDIU (needed for the communication with the ESOC, the ESA control center in Darmstadt) down to the bunker. The few pictures below may show how inconvenient and risky this task is:
Approaching the Bunker entrance form the outside

Difficulty to pass through the bunker narrow door entrance

Descending the stair case (30 meters long) with 100kgs racks!

A pause between to levels

Finally all equipment successfully installed and connected!

The Spacecraft was successfully mated on the DNIEPR rocket as some Battery telemetry could already been read after the EGSE have been connected.
Next steps

Spacecraft will be powered on 02/04.
Battery charging and usual telemetry measurements
Dress rehearsal 6/04

CS-2 ready for the Silo

2010-03-31T13:24:00.018+05:00

Launch -8 days
CryoSat-2 has has now been in loaded on to the Crocodile as it was already done on February 12th. This activity was widely described in "the crocodile closes its jaws"
The similar operation today went smoothly.

This was the last picture shot today before ESA & ASTRIUM were not allowed to continue witnessing activities.

Next steps on 01/04 (hopefully not a joke) :

transport of the Spacecraft to the Silo
transport of EGSE+NDIU to the bunker

Fairing

2010-03-31T10:05:00.044+05:00

Yesterday, handling of the PayLoad Fairing (PLF= Part located at the upper tip of the rocket) permitted to get nice views of this element.

PLF will be mounted on the top of the black platforms A+B (already described in
Cryosat-2 fairing) and will cover the Gas Dynamic Shield (GDS) in white below.
The GDS covers the Spacecraft.

Here under is a nice view of the PLF after it was lifted and laid on the trolley used for its transport to the Silo.
PLF is still partly covered with the protection material needed for the road transport to the Silo.

The inside of the fairing (2 pictures below) shows the configuration of pyro elements that will:

activate the separation springs (and eject the fairing from the launcher)
split/tear the fairing in 2 pieces (pyros are located along the string in the middle)

These two events will take place simultaneously, and PLF separation will occur at Launch + 5mn 9 sec precisely. Then, the fairing will fall into the Indian Ocean.
Inside the PLF during lifting.

Inside the PLF when laying on its jig.

Here under is a closer view on the separation springs seen from the outside.
Note some red tag items still to be removed before flight at the silo.

The PLF will be transported to the Silo with same convoy as the spacecraft and will be integrated there. Therefore, there are unfortunately no pictures of the fully integrated "rocket head'' i.e. Platforms +PLF.

Things are moving again

2010-03-30T12:52:00.077+05:00

Launch - 9 days.
Good news!: last electrical tests of the modified unit on the launcher were successfully completed this morning and green light was given to prepare CryoSat-2 (CS-2) to move to the silo.
For this transport:

The Space Head Module (SHM) needs to be prepared for integration on the crocodile
and the PayLoad Fairing (PLF) needs to be fitted on its dedicated trolley.

This activity was performed under the responsibility of Yuzhnoe, the Ukrainian company which developed the DNIEPR launcher.

As we have already done this activity in February (see CroySat-2 moves to the crocodile), there is nothing you don't know already :-). Let's try however to point a couple of new things...
Here under the encapsulated CS-2 is mated temporarily on a trolley that will be needed tomorrow to roll it up to the crocodile. What is new is the second (empty) SHM on the left. This SHM will be used in few week time for another launch campaign with a similar DNIEPR launcher. The Spacecraft will be this time a German Earth Observation Satellite called Tandem X. The mission is to measure land surface elevation with a high accuracy.
All precautions have been taken to prevent SHM mix up and make sure that the empty one won't go to the Silo on next Thursday!

Here below, a view on the 2 SHMs and the PLF (on the left):

In the background, in parallel, the ASTRIUM team continues packing... This activity is planned from long and has already started as it can't be done at the last minute after launch.

The PLF has also been put on its dedicated trolley for transport to the silo. The short movie shows Yuzhnoe team pushing it closer to the SHM.

Job has been completed for today.

...Time again to shot farewell pictures:
Here part of the Yuzhnoe team.
First lady on the right is the Yuzhnoe Product Assurance Representative

Then the ESA/ASTRIUM team.

Not to forget:
As promised, Yuzhnoe people kindly offered us a Ukrainian specialty to complement our lunch today. This was a tray of small pieces of bread covered with horse radish, calo (Сало), pickles and coriander leaves...
It was absolutely delicious and particularly indicated if we want to pick up a Sumo career!

Next short term steps:

31/03 SHM to be integrated in the crocodile

01/04 transport of the SHM+PLF to the Silo and EGSE to the Bunker*!

*For getting all 3 EGSE racks (100kgs each) and 1 NDIU rack (200kgs) down to the bunker chamber there is no lift but a 30 meter long and narrow staircase. It is so small and so unpractical that the heavy gang had problems to move in it and not to bump the hardware against the walls and the lateral handrail.
Due to the fragility of this old hardware and the associated risks of the handling, ESA/ASTRIUM team (even if not yet a Sumo fighter team despite the calo supplement at lunch) decided to perform this task on its own (6 persons) and not to rely on external help. As you can imagine this will be a painful task/day that we would imagine in no case to repeat for a 3rd time!

Baikonurtsi Portraits

2010-03-29T09:12:00.037+05:00

Gardener with an award*

Kazakh lady in the yurt during Nauryz

Woman saling wool handcraft items*

credits: Bill
Man at the fruit stand*

credits: Bill
Woman at the potatoes stand*

credits: Bill
Woman at the fruit stand*

credits: Bill
Woman at the fruit stand*

credits: Bill
Woman at the vegetable stand*

credits: Bill
Taxi driver

credits Bill
Kazakh teenagers friends on Korolev Avenue*

Kids playing

* distributed photo

Sunday 28th March postcard

2010-03-28T18:20:00.091+05:00

Dear all,
We are getting closer.
First from you, after you shifted your clocks to summer time last night, meaning that between CEST countries and Baikonur there is now 4 hours difference instead of 5 (Kazakhstan does have summer time).
Second from launch: we have now 11 days still to run and the coming week will be quiet busy and crucial!

So to keep fit, we had a long walk along the city wall (20kms/5 hours including stops) today. Some bits were not possible because of the presence of police controls. Therefore we slightly had to modify the planned itinerary but we managed to complete "a loop".
Now the snow and ice cover has disappeared, the sad reality of the city cleaning state can be "read'' on the ground where lay tons of ALL KIND of waste. The city authorities plan every year on 23rd of April a "cleaning day" which was widely advertised in the last issue of Baikonur weekly. This is certainly a nice and welcome initiative but the effort should certainly be continued the whole year. Putting that issue in a wider perspective, it is clear that the "clean planet'' is a concept that can work only if a "sustained and together'' approach is implemented. To that respect, as long as the merging countries have now adopted the western model of development and growth, it becomes obvious that solutions to present environmental problems can only be a joint worldwide effort.

Another thing that could be seen during this walk were white areas on the sand. This is the salt contained in the ground that now crystallized on the surface. Later in summer along the river one can observe a small "salted lake".

Last observation, seagulls have suddenly appeared in the landscape. It may sound strange in a semi desert zone, but the combination of the unfrozen river and food in the city may explain it (?). By the way, in his novel "The Steppe", Chekhov mentions all kind of birds related to the swamp/river bank areas as normal fauna of the Steppe...

We also passed by the market, to distribute the best portrait pictures shot by Shaf and Bill last February (printed on professional A4 format). This was certainly not a straight forward task to recognize and retrieve the people from the pictures. Therefore we did have to ask a few times:
-Do you know this person, we want to give her this picture, ?
One of the unexpected answer we had was:
-Yes, it is my mother!
or
-Yes of course, it is my wife!
The Baikonur market is definitely a small world and everybody there knows each other. So we managed to get all our stuff distributed at the end.
All of this activity brought a bit of animation at the place and due to our success, people who learn fast, were coming to us asking:
-where is my picture?
To meet these expectations, Bill took some more that will be distributed later on...
All of this was fun and done in a very spontaneous, friendly and trustful atmosphere.
Some of these pictures will be published in "Baikonurtsi Portraits".

As you see, we are in good hands here!

Let's simply hope that we will be as successful in our campaign in the next days.

Keep in touch.

Poka.

Kirill B.

PS:
I was wrong in my postcard last week, there is a second tulip in the city!

Campaign status and planning

2010-03-26T23:19:00.027+05:00

Few days after the campaign has resumed, the status to date is as follows:

CryoSat-2 Storage phase has formally terminated on 24/03
Unit with patched software to be replaced on launcher has been cleared by local customs on 25/03
and was integrated on the Launcher on 26/03
Electrical testing of this re-integrated launcher unit is planned on 29/03
Radiation (communications) tests with the Space Head Module planned on 29/03
On Spacecraft, Off to Launch mode successfully retested 26/03
Spacecraft side A check was successfully retested 26/03 (check of side B to be completed on 29/03)
Spacecraft battery charging started on 26/03 (to be completed by 29/03)
Transport of the Spacecraft to the Silo on the Crocodile is planned on 1/4
Transport of the EGSE/NDIU to the Bunker is planned on 1/4
Battery Voltage + Electrical checks once Spacecraft mated on Launcher at TBD date
A last venting of the Low Pressure Branches A and B (still under discussion)
Dress rehearsal is planned on 6/4
Last checks to be performed on 7/4
Launch on 8/4 @19:57 Baikonur time from Launch pad 109 (15:57 CEST)

A view on the Encapsulated CryoSat-2 in platforms A and B at MIK site 31 (building 40 Area B) after the "'wall" installed for the 3 week storage has been removed.

Spices in space city

2010-03-26T10:54:00.199+05:00

For centuries westerners have deployed all kinds of imagination, intelligence and resources to get spices from the Far East. As a side effect of the "spice race", Columbus looking for India discovered the American continent. Value of spices was so high in the west that, the devastated Victoria, the only ship left from the Magellan's fleet afer a first around of the world trip made the expedition (quasi) profitable when she came back to Spain in 1522 with a payload of only few containers of spices!
As the main country of central Asia is Kazakhstan a key player today in the spice trade? Is Baikonur not only a space but also a "spice" city?
Let's go to the central market to try to get an answer.
The first thing that will strike a visitor there will be the vivid colours of the spice stand more than the abundance. The second step to understand what is for sale requires a bit more of investigation.

On the picture below, the largest container on the left, contains a special mixture of spices (Cumin, barberry, tomato powder...) needed for the preparation of the most popular Kazakh dish: the "Plov", a (mild) spicy rice dish with beef. A variant is known as " Pilav rice" in Europe.
Then, let's go into more details and describe what will be found on his shelf:
Fist bottom row of bags (from left to right, RU/GB/F)

Шафран/Saffron, Safran (ground)
Зира/Cumin/Cumin (seed)
Зира/Cumin/Cumin (seed), different quality?
Укроп/Dill, Aneth odorant
Тмин/Carum/Carum
Анис/Anise/Anis

Second row (from left to right, RU/GB/F)

Укроп/Dill, Aneth odaorant
Барбарис/Barberry/Epine vinette
Хмель/Hop/Houblon (ground)
Перец горошком или чёрный/Black Pepper/Poivre noir
Душистый, или ямайский перец /Allspice/Piment de la Jamaique
Гвоздика/Clove/Clou de girofle

Third row (from left to right, RU/GB/F)

Кориандр/Coriander/Coriandre
Кинза=Кориандр/Coriander/Coriandre (different variety)
Кинза/Coriander/Coriandre (different variety or quality)
Тархун/Tarragon/Estragon
Базилик/Basil/Basilic (dried)
Мята/Mint/Menthe (dried)

Last row (from left to right)

Soft red pepper (ground)
Hot red pepper (ground)
Tomat= powder of dried tomatoes

The picture below shows few more spices (from left to right, RU/GB/F):

Бадьян/Star anise/Badiane
Куркума/Turmeric/Curcuma (ground root is used for the curry preparation)
Корица/Cinnamon/Cannelle (bark)

Here under from left to right:

Имбирь/Ginger/Gimgembre (powder of dried roots)
Корица/Cinnamon/Cannelle (ground)

Some chilli (hot) peppers are available as well from time to time on the market.
Note fresh saffron packed top right of the red chilli

This short inventory of the Baikonur market is certainly not exhaustive from what can be found in Kazakhstan but shows the Kazakhs taste for spicy and aromatic food. Local people seem for instance to highly value different kinds of peppers. However most of these spices are well known and used today in the western countries. To that respect, Kazakhstan does not look to be the Ali Baba's cave of the spices as we could imagine it is in India or Thailand.

Anyway, to slightly "spice" our CryoSat-2 daily routine, Bill just brought back from Holland some Sambal to make our lunch sandwiches more tasty ;-)

CS-2 Team back to Baikonur

2010-03-23T20:59:00.017+05:00

As planned, the ESA ASTRIUM CryoSat-2 team reached Baikonur on 23rd of March and is now complete and ready to resume the launch campaign.

The mild weather on Tuesday afternoon in Baikonur (+12C) permitted to sit at a cafe terrace on the Arbat for a bier. A nice way for a "get together again" that concludes the baby sitting/unexpected storage phase before serious things start again.

Credits: Klaus
Good news: The launcher hardware with the new "patched Software" was traveling from Moscow with the team on the same plane. Custom clearance is expected within 2 days. So activities should be soon back on track.

The remaining activities on the SC and launcher sides will be re-planned on 24/03 with the Russians in order to make sure that everything is completed in due time for a launch date planned now on the 8th of April.

But at this very moment:

A warm welcome back to all!

Baikonur or the "Open Air Museum"

2010-03-23T09:16:00.165+05:00

Icons, sculptures, models, paintings are present everywhere in Baikonur.
The purpose they deserve is two fold:

to keep the memory of all what contributed to write space history since 1955

and not to forget that Baikonur lays is in Kazakhstan, a country with secular traditions and culture.

Art is so well integrated in the street landscape that the visitor does feel to be in an "open air museum", except may be for those who live here the whole year...

Looking closer, one will be amazed by the wide range of art styles and techniques which cohabit in the city:

All busts of space figures (Gagrin, Korolev, Barmin, Yange l, Shushnikov, Pilyugin, Maximov...) may well represent the "acadamedic art"

A.A Maximov 1923-1990, on A.A. Maximov street (fragment)

The Stele of Science and Cosmos or the statue of Lenin on his pedestal are good examples of former Soviet "official art" : A mixture of figurative and allegoric representations, always large and massive, carrying a socio-political message.

Lenin statue on Lenin square

A last category of works is more difficult to define because it may appear more simple, less homogeneous, and using less sophisticated/costly techniques. This "spontaneous art", even if this denomination is not fully satisfactory, strikes anyway by its originality and power of expression: A mixture between church icons and comic strips... How to make that a simple rocket, a spacecraft or an astronaut in his spacesuit become suddenly a piece art? This, in fact, has been made possible in Baikonur by the talent of anonymous (?) artists. Their remarkable works, as it will be seen here after, are spread all over the city...

The first striking master piece may be the huge mosaic that welcomes visitors entering the city coming from the commercial airport: A flying astronaut, stares at you, with stretched arm in horizontal position like aircraft wings. This monument was erected for the 50th anniversary of Baikonur.
(fragment)

Credits: Andrei
Mosaic technique is also used on the Abai wall (Abai Monument on the Abai Prospekt) in the city. Here under are represented traditional scenes of the Kazakh daily life: Mother and child, Kobuz player, agriculture...
(fragment)

A last example on the west facade of the "Pioneers"Palace next to the St george church.
(fragment)

Another technique is the painting over the wall or concrete. The space "ballet" of these 2 supple cosmonauts around the planet is superbly drawn rendering remarkably the feeling of weightlessness.
(on Titov street)

Large painted panels cover some facades on the Arbat, the pedestrian shopping street of Baikonur. Here under a cartoon-like space odyssey between stars and comets...

This other remarkable painting below on the Korolev Prospekt could deserve a special note on its own. Numerous items, mixing rounded and orthogonal lines, are this time fully integrated in a single composition: the fusion of Kazakh culture with modern technology? The yellow and blue colours look like a photographic negative: Alternation of days and nights or natural balance between life on Earth and the Cosmos? ...A new harmonious world is under construction.

Carved wall or plaster is also a technique used at several places in the city. The quality of the workmanship may vary from place to place. The one below is likely not the most refined, but who cares.... This interesting work may have been carried out by some workers of the RPB factory (located just behind the energy plant) at the time of the Soviet Union (?). Here again, the carved material use a language close to the "squares" of a comic strip. This patchwork represents all technological achievements made by this company. A way also for the artists to express their pride and to contribute to the fame of the (CCCP) regime at the time.

The same technique is used here with a better workmanship. This "wall" officially commemorates the renaming of the city of Baikonur in 1995. It addresses this time the soviet lunar programme (Lunokhod), Buran and the space exploration.
(fragment)

Coming back to the Abai monument, this carved or molded wall very nicely captures the main features of the Kazakh daily life (as the mosaic mentioned above).

A close up
-on the traditional Golden Eagle (Беркут) hunting,

-or here on the camel caravans crossing Kazakhstan. The old "silk road" was far more in the south of the country, but a northern bifurcation heading to Moscow and Finland, may have passed along the Syr Daria not very far from Baikonur...

These examples picked up at random are certainly not exhaustive of the ART found in the Baikonur streets but just show how extraordinary rich is the patrimony of the space city.
Most of these remarkable works are not signed, and likely carried out by anonymous artists. The omnipresence of this "popular art'' makes walking in Baikonur extremely pleasant.
This Art is fragile and certainly suffers from the cold conditions of the place. Some pieces are becoming old and start to need a serious "lifting". It would be a piety that such a priceless memory would vanish.

no comment

2010-03-22T19:50:00.056+05:00

Baikonur city 22/03/2010 - Nauryz

Frühling

2010-03-21T19:57:00.049+05:00

Dear all,
This is the only opened tulip found in Baikonur city today that might suggest that spring starts up.
Terrace decoration on the Arbat.

Not very surprising due to the rather cold weather we still have here (Refer to previous note Weather in Baikonur).
Tulips will be visible throughout the city later in April and, if you are really impatient to see bulbs in flower, it is strongly advised to go to... Keukenhof!
...
But the only important event in town at the moment is the preparation of the Nauryz (Наурыз) that will take place tomorrow 22/03 in Baikonur city.
It is already widely announced at the entrance of the Baikonur Park in the southern part of the city: Happy celebration of the Nauryz!

Or here when entering the Arbat: Nauryz, the feast of friendship and renewal of life.

The origin of this feast comes from an ancient Persian tradition celebrated since almost 3000 years and known as Nowruz or the Persian new year. This very date coincides in fact with spring and equinox.
This celebration has widely spread over "Iranian" borders in general and in all central Asian countries in particular. It is known in Kazakhstan as "Nauryz", and, by extension, is also considered today as the Muslim new year.
In the Republic of Kazakhstan people don't work since last Saturday till next Wednesday 24/03 for celebrating Nauryz. In Baikonur city, Monday 22/3/2010 only is granted as a bank holiday to allow the city to accommodate and celebrate the festivities.

This will then be the natural continuation of this short postcard of today.

Keep in touch...

Poka

Kirill B.

PS:
I cannot conclude this note without telling you that the Sputnik restaurant team is working hard at the moment as you can see below. They are holding a FRR (Food Resupply Review) to make sure that everything will be in place to welcome ESA and Astrium colleagues next Tuesday to resume the Cryosat-2 launch campaign.

Above, the Kitchen panel (Mira chairman and Zhana secretary) seats in front of the FRR End Item Data Package. No clue how many RIDs have been raised but be sure they eagerly wait for you for the co-location!

Good news from the Titanic

2010-03-20T20:50:00.063+05:00

A stroll to the Syr Daria today shows that the river is completely unfrozen now. This is a real change from the landscape we had in January when we arrived in Baikonur.
The water level is rather high at the moment. This is due to the melted ice coming from the Uzbek mountains. In summer, according to local people, the shallow waters enable to reach by foot the islands in the middle of the river with water up to the hip only.

On the ground, ice crystals are slowly but irreversibly melting at the foot of the reed canes under the tepid sun of March,

and CryoSat-2, despite a launch on April the 8th will not be able to map the last few large ice sheets left along the Syr Daria banks.

We all are waiting for the accurate data Cryosat-2 will provide once in space, but we already strongly suspect a negative balance of ice on the planet which has already triggered alarming signals for some of our polar friends...

However, there is may be one place in Baikonur which is not going to complain about this seasonal warming or for which ice melting is not bad news at all. This place is called the Titanic. Why?
Certainly not because of any kind of icebergs (even if melting) this time...

In Baikonur, the Titanic is the name of the wreck (above) that has been pulled up onto the upper bank of the Syr Daria to become a restaurant and a "Bier garten" during the spring/summer period. It is still closed but should open as soon as the weather conditions will improve, offering to the "Baikonurtsi" a nice place for social events with a gorgeous view on the river and the steppe.
How this ship ended her life at this place? One can only speculate. Earlier, at the time the flow of the river was more stable and the Aral sea was still a sea, she was may be carrying passengers along the river from place to place. The development of the intense irrigation to support cotton and rice cultures has drained the river (and the Aral sea) making these trips impossible today.
A quick look on the web shows that most of the Aral sea has become a cemetery for ships of this kind.

A last remark about the city itself and the river: In fact when the was city developed at this place as from 1955, the engineers started the settlements and then the construction of the city on the right bank. The (natural) idea would have been to build a city over the 2 banks of the Syr Daria. This idea was abandoned due to the non predictable behavior of the river flow. It was decided very early, that the city would grow along the river but on the right bank only.

New Launch Date

2010-03-19T14:54:00.018+05:00

ESA portal confirmed today 19/03/2010 the CryoSat-2 new launch date on

8th April 2010 at 13h57 UT (15:57 ESTEC/ESOC time, 19:57 Baikonur)

This delay from the originally planned 25/02/2010, was mainly due to an optimization of the combustion (ratio of fuel to oxidiser) of the second stage engine. Software modifications had to be made. They have now been tested ans validated. Campaign will resume shortly.

Therefore, the complete team is scheduled back to Baikonur on

23rd of March

Detailed information can be read on the ESA web site
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/index.html
or Cryosat-2 web site
http://www.esa.int/esaLP/LPcryosat.html

Housing in the "new city"

2010-03-19T09:09:00.075+05:00

The Real-Estate in Baikonur belongs to the Public sector (Russian State, City Council...?). As no privatisation progammes have taken place since the collapse of the Soviet Union, apartments are rent and maintenance is under the responsibility of the local authorities.
No Real-Estate agencies can be see in town. No advertising in the local newspaper supports a private housing market.
Therefore, like in many urban places in Russia, building blocks for habitation look in average, compared to our Western standards, in extremely poor conditions. Particularly for the eldest ones that have been constructed in the early 60 ies, more precisely between 1958 and 1968 at the time the city was still a settlement called "Leninskii settlement".
Here under is an example of a poorly maintained habitation.
Location: on Korolev Avenue, 200m away to Hotel Sputnik.

But of course all habitation blocks are not in these devastated conditions.
Two official companies in Baikonur are in charge of construction and renovation today.
Recently, new habitation blocks have been constructed

Credits: Raphael
while other have been renovated providing to Baikonur inhabitants a better conditions of life.
Location: in the center, on the Abai Avenue, close to the technical school.

It is worth to mention that quiet a few habitation blocks in the center have been ''walled'' to apparently prevent squatting or other kind of illegal habitation. These building left empty may reflect the "relocation" of some inhabitants in more modern constructions combined with a large exodus of people leaving Baikonur in the mid 90 ies?...

Between these extreme, devastated, renovated and walled blocks, the picture below likely represents the average of the habitation in Baikonur.
Location: in the street opposite to the Orthodox Church, East side of the town.

Some higher constructions have been erected in the late 70ies to respond at the time to the growth of the city which was renamed Leninsk in 1968.
Location: "Microrayon" area, in the South/west part of the city.

View on the other side, from the play ground.

This model of construction is fundamentally not very different from what has massively been built in most of the countries of the European Union after 1950. The big difference with the communist countries is likely the maintenance and the renovation process...

But there are also some "cosy" houses in the old center of Baikonur, like on the Arbat for instance

or close to it, near Shubnikov street,

where you may feel that architects also wanted to add a touch of aesthetics to the pure functionality of their construction style. Here a 'glass canopy'' (in wrought iron) over the steps,

and here, some carved or molded ornaments on the facade.

Few other questions may come after the outer appearance, such as:

Are these apartments nicely configured to accommodate families?
Are there technically better equipped and maintained inside than outside?
how interiors can be decorated to forget these austere facades?

May be quiet interesting topics for students in Architecture...

Growing trees in the desert

2010-03-17T11:00:00.076+05:00

Growing trees in Baikonur has to be seen as a prowess, The semi desert landscape that surrounds the space city shows that a very limited number of trees species can naturally grow in the extreme conditions of this area.

Therefore, almost all species have been imported in the "new city" and ingenious solutions have been found to resolve problem such as:

no water in the immediate under ground as well as no much rain
high temperature in the summer period associated with drought
a limestone clay and sand type of soil which is rather poor in organic elements,
the salt of ancient sea that has contaminated lower geological layers,
freezing temperature which is a killer for bark and the blossoms or young leaves,
etc...

Trees do have a hard life in Baikonur:
Not only from the nature :-)

Only sustained and continuous efforts make the miracle possible: To grow trees in the desert and make the new city "green".
Since a couple of days, many environmental technicians and agents are at work in the Baikonur streets to prepare fort the big seasonal transition.

The first visible action is the pruning. It has started here in the Peace Park for a week already,

or next to the Arbat street where you can observe a more drastic cutting. Note the white colour at the bottom of the trunk. This "white painting substance" is used everywhere to fight against parasites/fungi and to prevent bark cracking during freezing periods (?)

Large quantities of fresh ground are transported to the city by trucks.

This is used to replenish the soil at the foot of the trees bringing essential nutritional elements.
Korolev Prospekt

Burning dead herbs of the past season is a also a widely used technique in Baikonur. This let to think that soils are rather acidic as ashes brings potassium and carbonates that will slightly increase soil pH .
Here, on the Gagarin Avenue, as well as everywhere else in the city, a dense piping system bring the necessary water to the plants in the warm season.

At the same place, dried Camel feces is also widely spread as a natural (and local) fertilizer.

Dead trees are replaced by new plantations properly supported.

At many places, one can also observe the digging of the unfrozen soil, the necessary preparation for new flowerbeds like here under in front of the Science and Cosmos Stela.

All these efforts will for sure pay in a couple a weeks when the season change will definitely make us forgetting the very cold winter. The city will suddenly look like an "oasis in the desert".

A description of the various acclimatized species of trees that can be found in Baikonur parks definitely deserves a dedicated message.

Space and Earth debris

2010-03-15T10:20:00.062+05:00

"Baikonur", a weekly local newspaper, gives on page 3 under the heading "Kosmoport", articles related to space activities in general and on the cosmodrome in particular.

On issue dated 26/02/10, this page was dedicated to Space Debris with 2 main articles:.
Who will remove the orbital junk? was the headline of the first article,

followed by: Russia wants to get rid of the space debris for the future generations.

These articles, like media in general, underline the increasing number of space debris over the past years and the associated risks if nothing is done. In addition, the unforeseen spacecraft collision in 2009 between Iridium-33 and decommissioned Kosmos 2251 put into perspective the dramatic increase of unexpected space debris if such accidents are not properly prevented.
Both articles draw the attention on the urgency to tackle seriously with this issue and the proposed ways of investigation. ESA, though it was not namely quoted in the newspaper, is perfectly aware of the danger and has already taken initiative together with other world space Agencies and actors to propose solutions to this complex question. For instance, some of the spacecrafts of the next generation will have to be designed for being de-orbited once their missions are over.
Finally, the Russian newspaper mentions NASA as a key player which has started to perform a mapping of the debris in space larger than 10cm.

In Baikonur city one can see on the ground few rocket debris as showed by the few pictures here after. But let's make it clear: these debris are fortunately not the results of launch failures falling from the sky. Otherwise opening an helmet shop down town would look as a promising business :-)
If our information are correct, they have been brought there and used for different purpose such as for instance to burn waste (as it can be seen by the trace of combustion of the insulation material)
Three large cylinders (ca 2 meters diameters) can be seen on the bank of the Syr Daria river.

It is may be exaggerated to say that they are now part of the landscape, or represent any kind of "open air art"'!

Another large bit can be seen closer to habitations in the North/western part of the city.

Credits: Raphael
A closer view shows burning on the external surface.

Credits: Raphael
Usually, drop zones are well defined and known far before launch. Ad-hoc measures are taken to prevent any impact on inhabited areas, keep populations safe, and remove the debris quickly once they fall on the ground (and even sometimes in seas or oceans).
For CryoSat-2 (CS-2), an agreement has been signed with Turkmenistan for the Dniepr first stage drop zone. This debris will swiftly be collected and disposed by a specialised team after launch. The Payload Fairing(PLF) and the Dniepr second stage will fall in the Indian Ocean.
To be complete, the Space Head Module (SHM) will remain in orbit. Due to the launcher design to free the CS-2 spacecraft in space, the SHM will split in 2 parts: Platform A and Platform B together with the Gas Dynamic Shield... adding then 2 space debris to the NASA register.

no comment

2010-03-14T18:06:00.017+05:00

Baikonur City 13/03/2010 - 17:59

Sunday 14th March Postcard

2010-03-14T13:59:00.045+05:00

Dear All,
Let's have a look at another aspect of Baikonur, "the reverse side of the medal"as the French would literally say. The city used to be rich (and is still relatively rich) but some areas looks completely abandoned with the progressive withdrawal of the Russians. Some of these empty places carries very expressive art and striking messages. That is what I would like to report today on this postcard.

The picture below is taken in the center of Baikonur, less than 200m from the main market place. The building has apparently burned and is left empty. With a spelling mistake, the slogan on the wall (Zemlja Mucur [for Mucor?]) states: "Earth is dirty" or "Earth is a trash can" . How can we disagree?
Effectively, each morning passing along the Kazakh village of Turyatam thousands of plastic bags lay on the ground or fly with the breeze transforming the wild landscape in a dump. Who cares?

Behind this building, there is another amazing graffiti on the wall:
I have no clue what this poor kid breathes or smokes but it/he doesn't look particularly healthy.

Continuing few meter further, there is a long wall inside the city. Many of the wall elements are painted the same way as the Berlin East side gallery.
Many tags make reference to the RAP (REP? in Russian) or Hip Hop, the typical militant music of the socially devastated western suburbs.
REP eto sila is written below, meaning REP is the strength.

Some of them are more figurative expressing may be youth anxiety or self defense

Finally, Batman (or spiderman) appears to be a positive hero here in Baikonur, while the Hippies "Peace and Love" logo presence seems rather anachronistic not to say completely cryptic at this place.

Leaving the place, 2 kids were asking me:
-Pochemu ty cdelali fotografi? (why did you take pictures?)
I just answered them
-...Souvenir!

Baikonur is for sure a complex place, that is why it is so interesting.

From Russia with love.
Kirill B.

PS:
A Kazakh guy (I saw him twice already) carrying rubble from city to Turyatam.
This also shows the "reverse side of the medal", or simply (hard) life as it is here.

Purging sucesfull

2010-03-13T17:42:00.059+05:00

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

2010-03-12T11:32:00.085+05:00

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

2010-03-10T11:15:00.037+05:00

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

2010-03-09T12:12:00.051+05:00

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!

2010-03-08T10:17:00.046+05:00

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

2010-03-07T18:07:00.061+05:00

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 da y 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! :-)

Few elements of Kazak culture

2010-03-06T09:42:00.084+05:00

While Baikonur street names widely remind the Russian heroes of the space conquest, 2 streets only (TBC) refer to Kakak figures:

Аба́й Кунанба́ев, or Abai Kunanbaiev Avenue (one of the three largest avenues of Baikonur city with Gagarin and Korolev Avenues). A commemorative statue in front of a carved wall celebrates the "father" of the Kazakh literature (2nd half of the XIXth century).

Zhankozha Batyr Avenue, along the Peace Park, reminds a warrior of the XIXth century from the North East of the Aral sea region who became a national Kazakh figure.

There is no reference in Baikonur of a legendary Turkic artist of the 9th century who lived close to the Syr Daria river and known as Коркут Korkut . He was a kind of universal artist: composing songs, improvising singer (Акы́н, like our troubadours) writing poetry, inventor of the Kobyz (Кобы́з, may be the ancestor of our modern violin?), and promoter of Arts in general ... Therefore, his fame spread far beyond the borders of Kazakhstan to be present in almost all countries of central Asia. Korkyt-Ata is a Museum in the desert, 45 minutes drive from Baikonur city, which has been dedicated to the "epic artist" widely recnicognised by all turkic (oguz) tribes.

The most interesting exhibition of Kazak items and culture in Baikonur can be found in a dedicated room of the "City cultural Palace",
The beautiful carpets are not produced in the Baikonur area but more towards Alma Ata

Credits: Richard

...as well as the the traditional kazakh music instruments:

In the window above are displayed:

2 Домбра or dombras (guitar like, 2 strings, frets on the Kazakh but not on the Uzbekh one)
2 Jew's harps
1 castanets like
1 modern Kobyz with a contemporary bow (Kazakh violin, likely played like a cello, i.e holding the instrument between the legs?)
2 дауылпаз or Dauylpaz (drums)
1 Cыбызгы or Sybyszy (flute like instrument)
1 Syldyrmak (above the bottom drum; from the idiophone family; the sound is produced by shaking)
1 Zyther like instrument at the bottom (a Kazakh version of the chinese Guzheng?)

Ready now or a representation of Mozart's "Die Entführung aus dem Serail " performed on Kazakh epoch instruments at the Baikonur Saturn "KinoKontsertnyi Zal" ? :-)

Far from joking, this is may not a crazy idea as long as in November 2009, a South African troop performed in Paris (Théâtre du Châtelet) the Mozart's Magic flute with their traditional instruments... this was warmly welcome by the critics.

A young city for the youth

2010-03-03T20:54:00.068+05:00

Baikonur has celebrated in 2005 its 50th anniversary. Despite this young age, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early nineties where many people were oblige to leave due to job cuts, the young city still counted 70.000 inhabitants in 2006.

The transition to a fully controlled Kazakh city has already started. This will probably last as a minimum 2 generations, i.e. the time remaining to the end of the Russian leasing of the Cosmodrome enclave in 2050. Due to this particular feature, it is difficult to apply to Baikonur Russian demographic figures as long as the city is a complex mixture of Kazakh and Russian populations and cultures.

Anyway, 2008 demographic figures from both sides are worrying:

Total Fertility Rates are respectively for Russia and Kazakhstan: 1,49 children born by woman and 1,88 (1,53 for the European Union)
Life expectation at birth for men: 61,8 years in Russia and 62,58 years for Kazakhstan (against 77,5 years for the European Union)

Drastic measures have been taken by Russian authorities to reverse these negative trends:

Year 2008 was declared "year of the family" (Год семьи)
Advertisement on a Baikonur door shop

and 2009 "year of the Youth" ( Год Молодеж и)
Large board on the "Prospekt Koroleva" (Korolev Avenue)

Both programs were supported by the Baikonur city and widely advertised within the town.
One funny poster carries over the national slogan with a slight local flavor:
Baikonur is my city! says this baby looking in the telescope.
Note on the left side of the poster, the typical steppe short red tulips; we may also have the chance the see them blooming (?)

The poster below, on the same topic, is quiet interesting. The slogan "Baikonur: my native city" is written in both languages: Kazakh and Russian (last line) reflecting the Kazakh/Russian ruling of the transition period. The portrait of the young Kazakh boy underlines the pride to be born in Baikonur, and also suggests on the long term, the Kazakh fate of this area.
Both posters posted on the Gagarin Avenue

Beyond these statistics, when one wanders throughout the city, Baikonur gives the impression of a dynamic city where the youth is omnipresent.
Full discotheques at the week end, teenagers playing soccer downtown or young children playing on the numerous play grounds everywhere in the city.

...
This long introduction about the youth, makes a perfect transition to talk about "our baby", CryoSat-2. It is going extremely well (this is confirmed by the measurements made during our daily visits). It enjoys much the baby sitting phase provided it will not last too long!
I let you to guess what is the best play ground game it would enjoy in the city,

and its favorite candy bar :-)

no comment

2010-03-02T22:08:00.022+05:00

Baikonur city, Kazakhstan, 27/02/2010 - 12:18

Diengi or Tenge?

2010-03-02T08:46:00.078+05:00

The similarity between деньги (Dengi means money in Russian, while the present currency is the Pубль/Ruble) and Tenge, the current Kazakh currency, suggests that these two words have a common origin. As always, the "common ancestor" has to be digged out in the past and deserves a short explanation.

Few Kazakh Tenge coins (note the Coat of Arms of Kazakhstan on the bottom line)

The Kazakh word Tenge, also common to other Turkish languages, refers to a set of scale (the root of the word meaning "equal"). From ancestral bartering habits to more modern trading, the name given to the Kazakh money simply seems to reflect the final deal in a transaction when the offer meets the demands.

The Russian word деньги, for money, originates from the same group of Turkish languages.

The etymology of the Russian Pубль/Rubl' or Ruble comes from a verb meaning "to chop": the ruble being a determined weight resulting from chopping a piece off a silver ingot.
A Kopeck is a hundredth of ruble and, with the devaluation of the ruble, does not worth much nowadays.

One and Five Russian Ruble coins (the eagle with two heads represents the Russian Coat of Arms)

The present exchange rate between Russian Ruble and Kazakh Tenge is: 1 Ruble=5 Tenge. To that respect, the Russian currency is a strong currency vis a vis the Tenge. Both currencies are circulating in Baikonur.

Extending the scope of this note to some European currencies, the former Spanish Peso and Italian Lira, as well as the British Pound directly refer to other kinds of standardised "weight" used in the past.

All of this clearly indicates that for centuries (may be millennium) money was primarily aiming at supporting and easing the trade or real economy between the people and to a lesser extent speculation.

Sunday 28th February postcard

2010-02-28T21:06:00.025+05:00

Dear all,

Weather today was gorgeous, still cold (slightly above 0C in the afternoon) but extremely sunny.

It seems that few people have anticipated the "spring cleaning" of their interior: beating carpets outside and taking all opportunities to make the bedding stuff breathing...

or even better...

At the market, the lady standing at the "Gelateria" (I mentioned her last week) has even installed a large parasol to protect her and her stock from the sun (but she did not manage yet to connect the cooling machine to a proper power supply!).

If it continues like this,...promised, next week we go to the beach!

From Russia with love.

Kirill B.

Let's take the train

2010-02-28T16:13:00.061+05:00

Here is the overall view of the Baikonur Central Railways Station (from south to north):

A view from the upper level clearly shows the platforms, the tracks and the trains:

The odd thing, as you have may be already noticed, is that there is no real station building around to buy a ticket or to get information. But in fact what for?
Info boards stand permanently ahead of each platform, and trains have a single destination: the cosmodrome (with its many stations) and carry its personnel only.
So no real chance for an afternoon ride!

To pull the trains, Kosmotranc operates a standard type of diesel machine. We see them during our commuting trips from the bus on the various rail tracks of the cosmodrome.

This Sunday afternoon, seeing few passengers boarding, I walked up there to know more.
Hundred meters further on the platform, I met with Жана (Zhana), the train manager who was first surprised to see someone coming to this place with no intention to board. After I told that I was just walking around, she explained to me that this train was specially chartered today from the cosmodrome to allow some staff living there to have a break in the city of Baikonur before returning to their working place.

I was allowed to board few minutes and to visit the interior of the wagon. The compartments were effectively full of seated people in working clothes.

To say good bye after our short discussion on the platform, Zhana was happy to make a picture. This very open and friendly attitude is a common feature among the majority of the Kazakh people I met so far in Baikonur.

It is now 15:00 sharp, boarding completed, door are closed and the train leaves.
Bon voyage!

Gagarin Monument

2010-02-27T07:43:00.090+05:00

Gagarin is likely the most celebrated hero of Baikonur. Among all of sculptures, paintings, pins, posters, plates, flags, etc... there is one representation in particular which draws our attention: the Gagarin Monument located between the Town Hall and the Parc of Peace.

The sculpture, about seven meters high, shows a standing man with his arms raised to the sky as a sign of victory or greeting. As a simple rule of body language, he invites us to do the same.

The very sober appearance of the gray mat painted concrete, reminding the pachyderm skin, reinforces the massive aspect of the sculpture.

At the opposite of the usual former soviet propaganda (e.g. a statue of Lenin few meters away) , this Gagarin representation breaks with academical sculptural postures. The cosmonaut does not wear military uniform or pressurised space suits. His head is free of the helmet (traditionally captured on almost all other Gagarin icons). This suggests more a humanistic intention than a political message. This impression seems confirmed when getting closer by the friendly Gagarin's smiling face.

The artist was likely not seeking the secret of man ideal proportions as L. di Vinci did, but surely demonstrated that despite the tallest position a man can have, he remains ridiculously small compared to the world he tries to reach.

With his feet on the ground, his stretched arms and the palm facing the sky, Gagarin ideally represents "the Man" as a fragile and harmonious link between Earth and the Cosmos.

His eyes are staring at Восток (Vostok meaning "East" in Russian), refers to the name of the spaceship that brought him to space.

Another detail: when the "sky calendar" is favorable, if one sits in the front of the sculpture, it is possible to see Gagarin "carrying" the sun at sunset or the full moon at night between his hands.

The sculpture becomes then a natural player of the cosmic clock.

Credits: Acem (via Raphael)

After spending some time admiring all the facets of this monument, one will realise that after a certain 12th April 1961, somewhere in the kazakh steppe near Baikonur, Homo Erectus has definitely started his evolution towards "Homo Cosmicus"...

The wall

2010-02-26T10:14:00.047+05:00

Since the superb celebration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall in 2009, we sometime forget that walls are still erected around the world.
The last one to date has been built in MIK site 31 around Cryosat-2 storage area. What a (good) surprise we had when it was discovered that instead of the safety chord we have asked for to protect CS-2 hardware, the Russians had put in place a solid wall completely surrounding the area! Not easy to enter the place this morning for the first "baby sitting'' checks, no "check points", we just had to move temporarily a piece of the wall!
The device on the right of the SHM is not an "observation tower" but the usual Mechanical Ground Support Equipment to service the SHM :-)

Beyond the MIK, the "wall" is a reality in Baikonur: it circles the city and we cross it every day, with the support of a dedicated escort, to reach the cosmodrome.
This wall materialises the border between the Russian enclave of Baikonur in the Кызылорда (Kyzylorda) region of Kazakhstan.
Our Russian visas give us access to this enclave, the city of Baikonur and the Cosmodrome, but we are not allowed to go to Kazakhstan (i.e. on the other side of the city wall). The Kyzylorda region seems to be forbidden to foreigners; most of it is semi or completely desertic (?)
Behind the wall stands the Kazakh village of Tyuratam.
Determining what is the best side of the wall is a complex question.

Credits: Raphael

Some other sections are poorly maintained or not tight at all and it is frequent to see people crossing them over, by-passing the regular check points.

Finally inside the city, long sections of walls are used for space or popular art expression.

Credits: Raphael

In the same way, the East Side Gallery in Berlin showed how wall painting has become recently an extraordinary mean to express a mixture of art, political satire and hope...

It is not sure that after its removal, the "Cryosat-2 wall" will ends its life in a museum and will inspire many artists :-(

25th is dead, long life to the 25th!

2010-02-25T09:57:00.030+05:00

25th of February was originally known as the CryoSat-2 (CS-2) launch date. As everybody knows now, due a problem on the launcher side, the launch date had to be postponed.

The latest news we have today is that the new launch date is now set for March 25th.

This new date consolidates decisions made earlier this week concerning the spacecraft storage period up to February the 12th and the logistic to reduce the team in Baikonur to this date.

Overall schedule is being presently updated for when the campaign will resume.

Not easy to illustrate the message of today with a picture but the one below may show that CS-2 team despite this delay and the work still to be done before launch .... is well on track!

This is the railways track we cross every morning with the bus just before entering the MIK site 31 on the Cosmodrome. This rail track is used to bring heavy equipment by train onto site 31 as well as Soyuz-2 rocket in the future on launch pad 31 (less than 500m from the assembly hall!).

On June 15th 2007, some of the TerraSar launch team were standing on the right side of this rail track to observe the launch from Launch pad 109: the same place from where CryoSat-2 will take off on the 25th of March ...2010 :-)

No passengers allowed in the SHM

2010-02-24T14:25:00.032+05:00

One aspect to be taken care during the "abnormally quiet" period of the CryoSat-2 (CS-2) storage is that no little animals will visit or take the Space Head Module (SHM) as a natural "home''. This could have dramatic consequences.

Insects and or small rodents like mice are the best candidates as we observed them several time at the MIK.

Russians are taking the issue very seriously. For the fairing part

the cones on the legs of the jig normally prevent small rodents to climb up the hardware.

As a second precaution, a plastic foil under the fairing has been installed this morning. This will also help for preventing conventional contamination.

As far the SHM (where CS-2 is encapsulated) is concerned, it is tight sealed on the bottom side with large filtering areas enabling air circulation.
Note: the hole for connectors (bottom side middle of the picture) is also sealed from the inside.

The ideal solution would be to use one (or two) good old tomcat(s) from the vicinity (there are some), but as you can imagine they are not allowed in clean or equivalent integration halls!

Team on site will reduce

2010-02-24T10:59:00.033+05:00

After Cryosat-2 was safely brought back to the MIK, a couple of days were needed to reconnect all Electrical Ground Segment Equipment (EGSE) and to check the health status of the spacecraft (SC).
This is the set up as it presently looks:

The same type of activities had to be done on the Yuzhnoe side for the Space head Module (SHM).
To date these activities is almost completed (no anomalies reported) and on 25/02 the unexpected storage period will formally start.

Storage is planned at the moment to last till 12th of March with a daily monitoring of:

Battery voltage (and measurement of the thermistor resistance)
Area C environmental parameters (T and H2o)
Visibly clean environment
External activities in area C

A reduced team will support the coming "Babysitting" phase of the campaign.

As some team members will fly back home as from next Friday, it was decided to take a group picture. The 2 "happy few'' to stay to support the baby sitting are the 2 from the right side: Klaus and Kirill.

One could say : An almost complete team for a remake of the movie 3 men and a cradle. This movie demonstrated how versatile and creative in baby sitting related tasks men can be when they have no other choice :-)

More seriously, let's wish that this storage won't be a pain but just be a piece of cake!

23rd February in Russia

2010-02-22T20:39:00.058+05:00

This date is a non working day for Russians and the people working on the Cosmodrome enjoy a long week end which started already last Saturday.
It reminds the historical date of the first involvement of the Red Army during the Civil War in Moscow and Petrograd.
It is interesting to see how the name of this commemoration changed over the time:

1918 Red Army Day (День Красной Армии /Dyen' Krasnoy Armii)
1949 Soviet Army and Nay day (День Советской Армии и Военно-Морского флота / Dyen' Sovyetskoy Armii i Voyenno-Morskogo flota)
1991 Defender of the Fatherland day (День защитника Отечества, Dyen' zashchitnika Otechestva)

Whatever the name is, it does suggest the celebration of all people who served or are serving in the army.
Recently by a kind of extension or deformation, it also covered the celebration of "Men" in general (this date becoming the counterpart of the Women’s day celebrated on March 8^th in

Russia

).
As a consequence it is also currently known today as:

Men’s day (День Мужчин, Dyen' Muzhchin)

The cards below on sale in Baikonur last Sunday reflect even few more free interpretations of this celebration:

But one thing is sure, don't try to find a crane operator on this very day at MIK site 31! :-)
May be also a relevant celebration for the happy few men that will soon start to baby sit CryoSat-2.

Whatever, let's wish all our Russian colleagues:
C Празником ! (C Praznikom!, or Happy Celebration!)

Sunday 21th February Postcard

2010-02-21T20:03:00.045+05:00

Dear all,

After a long working Saturday (back at the hotel at 21:00, see previous note), we were kindly invited by the Russians in the yurt restaurant of Baikonur for diner.

On the right side of the table: (from right to left):

the Kosmotras team: Yuri, Vladimir (the interpreter), Alexander,
and the 2 doctors: the new one, and Andrei (who leaves Turyatam tomorrow by train to Moscow - a 48 hours trip!).

During his stay, Andrei has been an essential link between the "Russian culture" and the team. He has been highly appreciated for his culture, his open mind, his friendship by the whole CS-2 team. We shall certainly miss him.
I take this opportunity to warmly welcome our new Doctor, Igor.

Not visible on the picture (above) , and sat on the Yuri's right was Dimitri Ivanovitch Chistjakov, Deputy Director Baikonur Cosmodrome (ex director of FKC). It was a big honour to have such a high ranking Russian figure within us.

On the other side of the table: the ESA and Astrium team.

We got a mixture of kazakh food

Баурса́ки, Bayrsaki (or Boorstog)
Плов, plov (or Pilav)
Казы́ , Kazy (horse meat with sausage shape, served cold)
Ма́нты Manti (large ravioi stuffed with horse meat)

.. this being served, it goes without saying, with vodka.

The picture below shows a bit in more details how the yurt is decorated

Today, Sunday, was a beautiful sunny day with a slightly positive temperature at noon. Ice was slowly melting and some streets and paths became muddy and slippery.

Many people were staying outside and the Baikonur market busy as usual.

Ice scream selling on the market does not seem anymore a desperate activity (and as you can see, despite partial warming the container still does not need power supply :-)

But the winter is not over as it is reminded to us by these nice wool handcraft items.
How to resist not to buy a pair of these sexy socks! :-)

Take care as we do here,

From Russia with love!

Kirill B.

"We do it twice"

2010-02-21T16:57:00.053+05:00

After the launch delay was announced, CryoSat-2 (CS-2) had to return from the Silo to the MIK till the modification of the 2nd stage engine software gives enough confidence that the best injection in orbit of the spacecraft can be achieved.

The CS-2 and Russian teams worked very hard last Saturday to get the Spacecraft out of the Silo and the heavy EGSE racks out of the bunker.
Due to long holiday week end on the Russian side (23/02 is a national day), this activity had absolutely to be done on Saturday February 2oth.

This is one of the picture reflecting this activity on Saturday 20/02.

As you see above, all the ingredients could have been there for the shot of a new nice James Bond movie but forget it today, it is just CS-2 safely loaded on he Jolly Green Giant leaving the Silo under escort and returning to the MIK for an unexpected "baby sitting"phase of the campaign.

This is a short movie of the last phase of this trip back: the crocodile entering backwards the site 31 area C of the MIK.

This trip to the Silo will have to be repeated when the campaign will resume, then the CryoSat-2 mission slogan "we do it twice'' may applied in this case unless " We only live twice!" could also be appropriate (?)

Anyway... let's wish that next one will be the good one!

Russians declared a "NO-GO" on the launcher

2010-02-19T10:36:00.045+05:00

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

2010-02-18T11:04:00.049+05:00

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"

2010-02-17T09:51:00.064+05:00

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:

Spacecraft Responsible at MIK site 31 on Baikonur cosmodrome
Spacecraft Operation Team at MIK site 31 on Baikonur cosmodrome (support to 1)
Spacecraft Operation Manager (SOM) at ESOC Mission Control Room (MCR), Darmstadt Germany
Operation Director at ESOC MCR, Darmstadt Germany
Project Representative, ESOC MCR, Darmstadt Germany
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

2010-02-16T13:22:00.076+05:00

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

2010-02-16T10:05:00.024+05:00

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

2010-02-15T18:06:00.040+05:00

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

2010-02-14T18:26:00.074+05:00

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

2010-02-14T18:06:00.020+05:00

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 Wednesda y (...but may be not at the Sputnik).

The crocodile closed its jaws

2010-02-12T13:31:00.017+05:00

The truck is waiting to be loaded:

Once pushed to the truck, the encapsulated CryoSat-2 (CS-2) is lifted by a crane inside the open container and firmly fixed into it:

The full container is then tilted:

...and the crocodile closes its jaws,
Movie not processed, showing real time motion

The launcher fairing is put on the empty trolley and will follow the SC trailed by a separate truck.

After the closing of the hatch, the convoy will be ready to leave to the silo first thing on next Monday morning.

A Sticker show

2010-02-12T12:38:00.027+05:00

At this very moment of the campaign, all parties wanted to exhibit their own stickers to be put on the fairing.

Here, Bill and Yuri (from left to right) exhibit the Russian one.
Note also from left to right, the Turkmenistan, Russian, Ukrainian, and Kazakh flags.
For the CryoSat-2 launch, An agreement has been reached with Turkmenistan for the drop zone of the rocket first stage.
The sticker also clearly flags the main players on the Russian side:

Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency
The National Space Agency of Ukraine
Kosmotras, joint Russian Ukrainian project to commercialise DNIEPR
Yuzhnoe, rocket designer
Yuzhmash, rocket manufacturer

ESA presents its own:

Astrium's one is handed by Edi and Raphael (from left to right).
A small sticker indeed ... but for an outstanding contribution!

Finally when all of these have been put at the right place, an overall picture of the Platform concluded this "sticker show":-)

CryoSat-2 moves to the crocodile

2010-02-12T11:38:00.024+05:00

Empty trolley to be used for moving CryoSat-2 from area B to area C (where the crocodile stands).
note in the background, the DNIEPR integrated platforms already prepared for the next launch

Lifting and moving the encapsulated CS-2 towards the trolley:

Very slow move for the last bit and a perfect fitting:

CS-2 on the trolley:

...and then, the push to the crocodile.
Эй, ухнем! Ещё разик, ещё да раз!
Yo, heave ho! Once more, once again, still once more
famous song of the Volga Boatmen :-)

A group picture of (part) the "technical support" staff at the MIK during our campaign. They have all been extremely appreciated for their reliability and competence . A good opportunity to be thankful to them.

Completion of the CryoSat-2 Encapsulation

2010-02-11T11:56:00.027+05:00

Starting the lift of Platform B

Slowly moving down Platform B on the Platform A

...till it almost perfect fit between top and bottom platforms is reached.

Encapsulation done!
...CryoSat-2 in the Space Head Module (SHM) on 10/02/2010 at 18:04 local time.

Few activities on the Russian side are still to be done before Spacecraft in the SHM can be loaded on the crocodile! (see previous note "SHM fit check on the launcher").

CS-2 Encapsulation starts

2010-02-11T10:00:00.032+05:00

Spacecraft and adaptor (on a jig) ready to be lifted

... and transported towards Platform A.

After slowly moving down the SC till the the adatpor has reached its nominal place at the bottom of Platform A, CryoSat-2 is "half" encapuslated.

Last chance to remove the last red tag items
Here, Wolfgang is removing a lifting bracket.
This item as you can see was used till the very last minute for this activity.

...and install the last green tag items. Here a balance mass.
Note the use of a 10 tons crane for a few kgs cube of bronze! :-)

After this step a last careful visual inspection is performed.
A unique opportunity to see the mirrors of Laser Retro Reflector (on left) without their caps.

Then... the last part of the encapsulation can start.

CryoSat-2 goes onto its Adaptor

2010-02-11T09:59:00.029+05:00

After a successful Flight Readiness Review (FRR) on 09/02/2010, Cryosat-2 (CS-2) was declared ready for flight. A significant milestone in the launch campaign.

This opens the door to the next activity: The Encapsulation of the Spacecraft (SC) in the Space Head Module (SHM) of the launcher.

This is done in 3 steps

Mate the SC on its Adaptor
Integrate both on Platform A
Cover the platform A with Platform B.

CS-2 was moved from the MIK clean room 119 to zone B and put in vertical position

for being lifted and transported to the adaptor.

Mating the SC on its adaptor is a delicate operation that needs a lot of care and skills from the operators

mating almost completed....
Note the presence of the Russian crane operator. She did a remarkable job.
Cranes at the MIK are exclusively operated by Russians and in most of the cases

operators are women.

Once CS-2 stands on its adaptor, the step 1 of the encapsulation shall start. As it is the last time the CS-2 team will see the spacecraft, it was agreed to make a joined ESA/ASTRIUM team photo.

Spacecraft adaptor gets prepared for fligft

2010-02-09T13:52:00.047+05:00

Good news: The Space Head Module (SHM) and the fairing, have now returned to the MIK building B. It is then assumed that the fit check on the launcher in the silo was positive and we get then closer to the encapsulation of the Spacecraft.

Below are the elements needed for this operation (from left to right) :

platform A
the complete adaptor (on a jig here)
platform B (with the Gas Dynamic Shield in white)
the fairing (seen for the first time)

The CryoSat-2 adaptor is made of 2 pieces

the spacecraft adaptor (square)
the launcher adaptor (circle)

In space, the separation of the spacecraft from the launcher will be done between these 2 elements by mean of four pyro bolts positioned in the four corners as showed below (but not installed yet)

The view below shows the very moment of the separation (between launcher and spacecraft adaptors) after activation of pyro bolts.
...as it was witnessed during the separation and shock test last July in IABG.

As you can see, after separation, the squared frame will stay on the spacecraft (SC) for the rest of the mission.
Therefore as for the SC, a thermal blanket called Multi Layer Insulation (MLI) needs to be installed on the SC adaptor. This work was performed today.

This is how the adaptor looks like after it got "dressed" for the flight.

Hope you can notice the difference!

French tourists lost in cosmodrome?

2010-02-09T09:58:00.017+05:00

Surprise arriving at the MIK this morning, next to our bus:
A French coach from Carmaux, a quiet and beautiful village of 10.000 inhabitants in the Tarn departement ...

Apparently no one on board, no lost french tourists around in the steppe,
...but if someone has a clue how this bus has reached this place, please mail us. :-)

An nice opportunity to greet our friends from Midi Pyrenees and Toulouse in particular!

Sunday 7th February postcard

2010-02-07T15:35:00.106+05:00

Dear all,

On Sunday as usual, no much writing but better a "pot-pourri" of city scenes from a cold but sunny/windy tour.

At the St George's Church, people put offerings on the altar.
The offered food will be then distributed later on to poor people.

From the church to the market...

where we had to pick up traditional Kazakh costumes, here some shapans models

a portrait of our saleswoman

bought some Uzbek pistaches from this nice stand

Then to the indoor market.
...crossing the "'vegetarian path"'

note at the bottom, the Japanese pears (nashi) that are served at the Hotel, slightly crunchy.

at the mandarine stand (very sweet but full of pits!)

On the way back to the hotel:

...Children seated next to their home

or other wanderers in the cold

and the beautiful Zhankozh Batyr Ulitsa (Zankhozha Batyra street, a Kazakh national hero)

... parallel to the Mir ulitsa (Peace street).
Both streets frame the Park of Peace... where proudly stands at the front the memorial of the first intercontinental SS-17 (15A15) missile (developed by M. Kuz'micha of the Yuzhnoe Design Buro in in the 70ies).

No way to escape from the Rocket business in Baikonur, even on Sunday! :-)

From Russia with love!

Kirill B.

Satan's conversion...

2010-02-06T23:34:00.092+05:00

The story started during the cold war in the context of the missile race between USA and Soviet Union to get a strategical advantage on the other. Such missiles where carrying nuclear heads.

The former Soviet Union developed in the 70ies an intercontinental missile of R36M type called 15A14 and 15A18. This was re-named "Satan" within the NATO terminology.

The picture below shows this SS18-Satan missile,
as displayed at the Historical Museum of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (in the city).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 90ies, a conversion programme was set to transform "Satan" 'into a peaceful commercial launcher for light weighed spacecrafts (like CryoSat-2).
To make it short: after an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the Russians attributed the re-design of the missile to Yuzhnoe Design Bureau, a company based in Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine.
Satan became then DNIEPR, the name of the famous Ukrainian/Russian/Belarus/Ukrainian river. The river being the linking element between Russia and Ukraine, could we interpret the choice of this name as the materialisation of this cooperation after the split of the Soviet Union?

The poster below (also on display in the museum) explains the various steps of this transformation programme:
(with a picture zoom-in, the explanations in the top left corner are fully readable for the Russian readers)

The Diepr maiden flight took place on 21/04/1999.
With this type of rocket, the payload is directly injected into orbit. Note the longer head (compared to Satan's one) which contains the spacecraft and the engines needed for the separation.

Some close up views of the poster are interesting because spotting scenes that will never be witnessed by the CryoSat-2 (CS-2) team after the spacecraft will have left the MIK.

-The squared shape of the silo lid:
here under, the team who carried the conversion programme at the Baikonur Launch pad 109, the same one that will be used for Cryosat-2

and a view on the Dniepr fairing (short one?) once the launcher is in the silo:

Here under is a model of the DNIEPR rocket on displayed in the museum:
the CryoSat-2 Launcher.

DNIEPR is operated from Baikonur and Yasnyi by ISC Kosmotrac,
Commercial flights are sold by Roskomos.

Baikonur city has also its own Space museum

2010-02-06T23:04:00.074+05:00

Let's have a short look at the Historical Museum of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

The place of this museum in the city is interesting for 2 reasons:
-first from there started on May 5th 1955 the new constructions to develop the city that would become Leninsk,

-Second, this large building called the city art palace is the cultural "heart" of the city with a museum, a library, a full scale theater where concerts, dancing performances , as well as many juvenile cultural activities take place.

This museum on the 1st floor and the Gagarine's museum visited last week on the cosmodrome are roughly covering the same topics i.e 50 years of soviet space history.

Here under are few snapshots mostly at random making this museum a "must" to visit in the City.

The 2 rockets on display below, the Gagarin's launcher Vostok on the left and the Soyuz rocket on the right, explain why Russia remains still today a "super" space power. Despite a significant upgrade, the Sozuz launcher is the continuation of the Vostok one and will be in 2 or 3 years time from now, when the US space shuttle will be in the museum, the only access to the International Space Station. This means that by just improving the robust technology from the Gagarin time, Russia is still in the race, while the USA are coming back after the Shuttle experience to more conventional launchers for manned space missions.

On the background, portraits of the key Russian scientists and engineers of this space saga from Tsiolkovkyi till Korolev and after...In between few debris of failed launches.

A beautiful model of the Soyuz on its dedicated launch pad.
Soyuz is fitted here with a manned spacecraft. The top of the rocket is equipped with a device that will enable the capsule to separate from the launcher in case of failure.

A model of the Gagarin's spaceship: the Vostok 3KA spacecraft.

Another strong asset of the Russian Rocket line: The proton carrying rocket, a competitor of the Ariane V Rocket for commercial launches.
2 proton launches took place during the CryoSat-2 launch campaign that were visible early morning (still dark) from the Sputnik hotel.

Buran made a single automatic flight on November 15th 1988. Here on display behind the model is the a real piece of the parachute that helped to brake the shuttle after landing.

An artist impression of the Sputnik flying around the Earth

in the room dedicated to manned space flight
...the famous 1969 movie from Vladymar Moty l: The white sun of the desert . The tradition wants that this movie is seen by Cosmonauts the day before their flights. The exact reason for viewing this particular film remains unclear.

And a picture of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky of the father of the rocket design and modern astronautics in his cabinet with its acoustic horn.

Full tank , please!...

2010-02-04T10:53:00.068+05:00

1,5 billion kilometers is roughly the distance Cryosat-2 will fly over its mission i.e. 3,5 years nominal and 2 years more (nice to have but not a mission requirement) at 717 kms altitude above the Earth with 16 orbits a day.

After the end of the rocket push and separation, the spacecraft will need energy to perform its maneuvers during the rest of the mission.

Pressurized Nitrogen is the CryoSat-2 "propellant' used by the Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystem (AOCS). This N2 gas is stored in a pressurized tank at ca 280 bars. After the tank, pressure is reduced to few bars and N2 flow will be ejected into space trough Attitude and Orbit thrusters. Short gas blows through the Attitude Control Thrusters, positioned on the 3 axes of the spacecraft, enable fine moves, whilst Orbit Control Thrusters on the X axis only allow maneuvers and orbit change.

For CryoSat-2, it has been calculated that 36,5 kgs (+/- 0,3) of Nitrogen will suffice to perform the (extended) mission.

Tank loading is then a very important step to prepare the spacecraft for the mission as well as to thoroughly check the tightness of all the "plumbing pipes and devices" of the AOCS subsystem.

Here is the set up for the tank loading activity:

On the right hand side, 2 sets of compressed Nitrogen bottles at 200 bars.

Note that the operators are not in the same room as the spacecraft for safety reasons. They are also protected by a removable protective wall opposite to the door (in brown) and close to the spacecraft in the next room.

Below, a close up view on:
- the computer which is used for Pressure and Temperature monitoring
- and on the left, the "Maximator'' that will "push" the Nitrogen gas to the spacecraft tank when the tank pressure will reached 200 bars (i.e. the same pressure of the compressed nitrogen in the bottles).

The screen snapshot below was taken just before the end of the tank loading activity and proves the successful performance of the activity.
As we can read:
-36,75kg* of nitrogen have been loaded and a final tank pressure of ca 279 bars.

* T3 and T4 Temperatures had to be balanced before the exact quantity of N2 gas can be calculated and the last Nitrogen top up can be made in order to complete the loading.

This activity was successfully completed this morning, Cryosat-2 gets then closer to its journey to space.

Soyuz launch today

2010-02-03T13:25:00.031+05:00

CroySat-2 team was invited to see a Soyuz rocket U-LV launch this morning (3/2/2010).
Payload was a Progress cargo (M-04M) heading to the ISS.

At about 8:45 am (i.e. 1 hour before launch) , we arrived at sunrise...

...on an empty parking lot where standing more that 10 minutes by -17C with a slight northern breeze was a prowess. We just made few pictures of the rocket standing on the launch pad at about 1km distance before getting back and wait in the warm bus the end of the count down.

15 minutes before launch the attendance increased on parking lot and then after launch all people were trying to get the best angle:

"CS-2 uniforms" in action

other (polar?) uniforms but not from the team.

But at 9:45 , that is exactly hat we saw: A splendid show that just leaves you breathless.
This launch pad was visited last Saturday, refer to earlier note.

Around 10:00 am the show was over. Just a vanishing cloud (water vapor from the cryogenics?) in the sunny sky of the steppe.

The same cloud over the tracking station few minutes later masking the sun.
Note the different position of the left tracking antenna compared with picture#1 above.