Good news from the Titanic

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.

Growing trees in the desert

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.

Weather in Baikonur

This page gives an idea of the weather conditions in Baikonur during the launch campaign:
Temperature below as read at ca 8:00 am on the thermometer outside at the entrance of Hotel Sputnik.
Temperatures increase a lot in the day particularly under sunny conditions.
January 2010
W 13: -10C, slight wind
T 14: -12C, no wind
F 15: -12C, no wind, sunny
S 16: -14C, no wind
S 17: -10C, very light snow, then very sunny
M 18: -10C, no wind
T 19: -18C, no wind
W 20: -19C, strong north/east wind, very sunny
T 21: -19C, no wind, overcast/partly sunny
F 22: -10C, no wind, extremely sunny
S 23: -12C, no wind, overcast
S 24: -9C, no wind, Snow fall in the morning clearing up in the day
M25: -11C, no wind overcast, then clear
Frost in the trees.

T26: -9C, strong gushes of wind, cloudy the whole day
W27: -8C, strong Northern wind, overcast, buran-like weather in the afternoon
Buran= snow storm in Russian language
T28: -10C, no wind, foggy cleared up in the day
F29: -6C, very slight wind, clear
S30: -10C, slight breeze, very clear and sunny weather :-), full moon
S31: -10C, no wind, sunny
February 2010
M1: -13C, no wind, very sunny
T2: -13C, breeze, very sunny
W3: -17C, slight breeze, very sunny
T4: -20C, no wind, very sunny :-)
F5: -22C, windy, sunny
S6: -14C, breeze, sunny after noon
S7: -20C, breeze, very sunny
M8: -22C, no wind, very sunny
T9: -22C, no wind, very sunny
W10: -22C, no wind, very sunny
T11: -22C, no wind, very sunny
F12: -26C, light breeze, very sunny
Proton rocket launch (Intelsat 16) at 6:39 am sharp, visible from the Hotel Sputnik yard looking in the Northern direction... in the starry night, the rocket looked like a huge comet. It was possible to see the booster separation. Distance from launch pas was about 50 kms.
S13: -25C, very light northern breeze, very sunny

S14: -19C, no wind, very sunny, beautiful light
M15: -16C, slight breeze, sunny becomes hazy
T16: -14C, slight breeze, sunny becomes hazy
W17: -6C, breeze, overcast and hazy the whole day
T18: -4C, North/Western breeze, overcast in the early morning but cleared up over the day
F19: -11C, no wind, very sunny
Beautiful frost is the trees.

S20: -6C, no wind, overcast
S21: -11C, No wind, very sunny (superb Sunday particularly mild in the afternoon)
M22: -6C, no wind, overcast

T23: 0C, slight east-southern breeze, heavily clouded (similar to usual Dutch weather)
Unespectedly it was Raining in the evening! Дождь смывает снег (Russian saying meaning: rain washes off snow. Will spring break through suddenly? Anyway, we experience very rapid weather changes in this semi desertic area.
W24: 0C, wind, slight rain at the hotel departure and snow at the MIK
T25: -1C, slight wind, cloudy, showers and hail late after noon.
A picture shot a 18:57 from hotel (i.e. ca 1 hour before the canceled launch time), showing showers and hail over the city. Could it be storm over the cosmodrome?, Certainly not ideal weather conditions for a launch.

F26: -3C, no wind, light snow during the morning
S27: -3C, northern/east breeze, sunny
S28: -8C, no wind, very sunny (+4c in the afternoon)
Full moon seen for the Sushi Haus, 7 Microraion, Baikonur.

March 2010
M1: -8C, slight eastern breeze, sunny
T2: -7C, slight breeze, sunny (positive T in the afternoon)
W3: -7C, wind, very sunny
T4: -8C, strong easterly wind, very sunny
The red aspect of the steppe is amplified by the window light filtering of the Gaz-L mini bus. The Gaz-L is really a gazelle, it has no suspensions, it just jumps form potholes to potholes. Don't plan any activity during the transport :-)

F5: -7C, no wind, sunny then hazy
S6: -3C, no wind, partly clouded
S7: +3C, no wind, rainy, clearing up at end of day
M8: 0C, no wind, overcast, few drops of rain, clearing up at the end of the day
Baikonur sky at 19:30 seen for the Sputnik hotel in western direction

T9:-3C, slight North Western breeze, partly clouded, hazy.
Few birds (craw type) gather since a couple of days in the city; for getting food and preparing for nesting?

W10: -3C, slight breeze, overcast
T11, -5C, snow, slight Northern breeze, clouded.
Nice sunny episode at 13:00 when leaving MIK with 5 cm of snow

F12: -5C breeze, partly cloudy clearing up in the day
Morning sky and stalagmites on the sputnik roof edge at 8:00 am

S13: -2C, windy, sunny but hazy.
The Pinkerton Dogs welcome us when we arrive at MIK today with Gerhard (arrived from Astrium yesterday) for the purging. The name come for the American security team (Pinkerton) of the previous campaign on site 31 which fed the dog. .. like pigs:-). That is why Russians call them "Pinkerton" now...

S14: +2C, no wind, partly clouded
M15: -1C, very slight breeze, clouded and foggy in the morning
T16: +1c, no wind, cloudy (+11c in the afternoon, few people seated in beer gardens)

W17: +2c, windy, cloudy
T18: -4C, slight breeze, very sunny
F19: 0C, slight breeze, cloudy and rain, snow later in the day
S20: -5C, no wind, Sunny
Proton-1 Breeze M launch, Payload Echostar14; lift off at 21:27 Moscow time +3 hours Baikonur time). The rocket could be eared from the hotel (walls were amplifying the low frequencies)...
S21: 0C, slight southern west breeze, cloudy (spring)
M22:+1C, no wind, Sunny (Nauryz)
T23: +1C, no wind sunny
W24: +6C, no wind, clouded
T25: 0C, southern breeze, sunny (+18C in the at 18:00 in the city)
F26: +6C, no wind, very sunny (strong wind at the end of the day)

S27: -5C, northern wind, partly clouded
S28: -1C, Northern wind, very sunny
Blossoms start to grow, on Korolev Avenue

M29: -2C, wind, very clear and sunny! dusk seen from Hotel Sputnik entrance

T 30: -1C, moderate easterly wind, very sunny (full moon)
W31: +2C, moderate easterly wind, partly clouded (seen few Souliks/Susliks, Суслики, on the cosmodrome, they seem to have terminated their annual hibernation)
April 2010
T1: +2C, moderate wind, sunny (seen the first Swallows flying in town + small Bats flying in daylight...)
Moon seen from Hotel Sputnik in 8:30am

F2: +3C, Slight northern breeze, sunny (TM-18 Soyuz launch)
S3: +6C, slight east wind, lightly cloudy and hazy
S4: +10C, slight breeze, sunny, (Easter)
M5: +10C, no wind, Overcast in the morning slightly stormy (view from Hotel sputnik (9:00am)

T6: +8C, strong southern west wind, sunny with few high altitude clouds
W7: +7C, slight breeze, partly cloudy and hazy
T8: +8C, slight breeze, sunny/hazy (see also launch day)
F9:+7, windy, hazy/cloudy
S10: +8C, very windy, cloudy and slightly rainy
S11: +2C, breeze, cloudy/rainy
M12: +6C, slight breeze, cloudy (Gagarin's day)
(View in late afternoon on the Syr Darya river in the northern direction from the platform of the Cosmonaut Path at Cosmonaut Hotel)

T13: +6C, slight eastern breeze, sunny (Team returns to base)

Present weather conditions and weather forecast in Baikonur.

The Steppe (draft)

Kazakh Steppe around Baikonur, as we discover it on our commuting trips every day from hotel sputnik to the MIK in the cosmodrome always offers a wide range of extremely beautiful landscapes.

Light at Dusk and dawn makes the landscapes simply amazing.

Sun rise on the steppe when arriving at the MIK in the morning (ca 09:00 am)



The steppe during day light (observation point for Launch pad #109)


A young dog used to live in the steppe


...and likely his or her mother few meters away.


Sun set on the steppe when leaving the MIK (ca 18:00)



A. Tchekhov's novel "the Steppe" - or the story of a trip, describes the fascination of the Russian writer for that kind of desert land. In this novel, partly autobiographic, A. Tchekhov is the young Iegorushka on the horse pulled carriage traveling together with his uncle Kouzmitchov (a wool trader) and Father Khristofor an orthodox priest. Another interesting character is Deniska the carriage coachman.

The young Iegorushka leaves home for the first time for going to high school in a larger city. It is mid summer time. The kid is a bit afraid by this adventure but he is also amazed by this trip so that he will remember it all his life long.

The Steppe is one of the first Tchekhov's novel (published in 1888) after he revisited ca 1887 the country of his childhood around Taganrog on the North East side of the Black Sea where he was born. The Novel is a sequence of sections describing a trip through the steppe likely between Tangarog and Rostov (?). It is also a sequence of beautiful paintings depicting the variety of the steppe: Fauna, storm, overnight in the Jewish inn, churches and villages, nomads, wool traders, legends... A. Tchekhov himself, very proud of this work, would have said "it is my master piece".

He describes with lot of emotion the beauty of these changing landscapes. He also says that there are no better places than the steppe to observe the starry sky at night.

to be continued...