Diary from a space project : Jan 27

The next instalment of the launch diary from ESA’s Charlotte Beskow working on launch preparations in Kourou.

D – 14  : We are ready to load the late cargo

Kourou Jan 27, 2011. Thursday

“The days are just packed….”

This phrase keeps popping up in my mind. It is actually the title of one of my favourite comics,  Calvin and Hobbes and refers, I believe, to their summer holidays….

My days are just as packed, and although I only manage four things each day (work, eat, sleep and exercise) my working days sometimes resemble Calvin’s – when he, as spaceman Spiff, zips around, busy chasing space criminals. I zip around too, chasing actions, documents, deliveries, people, information, etc.

The bottom line is that although we are working flat out we also have a lot of fun doing it.

One thing struck me yesterday when I was in a telephone conference. Here I was sitting in French Guyana, talking to my counterpart in Toulouse, about cargo provided by the Americans for a location in space… it is a new world.

Last update was D-17, when we transferred ATV to BAF. That was six days ago.

The following day we moved ATV out of the CCU container and weighed it. There was a problem with one piece of equipment which gave us a bit of a headache but by Sunday this had been sorted out and we were ready for the hoisting operation on Monday (24 January).

The first operation on the Monday was not the ATV, but the Separation and Distancing Module which separates ATV from the launcher’s Vehicle Equipment Bay (VEB). This was to be mounted on the Ariane 5 before mounting ATV on top of it. This sounds simple but everything has to be perfectly aligned to allow the 386 bolts to engage. Tricky operation but at the end of the day all was ready for ATV.

On Tuesday ATV was hoisted and secured on Ariane 5. Another step passed!

In order to preserve the clean room conditions, the BAF has a big area for the launcher table and the launcher and another area for incoming items like satellites, fairings, support equipment, etc. A wall runs from top to bottom of the BAF separating the two parts. Hoisting therefore involves opening a gap at the top (called the chimney) and lifting the item above the partition and down on the other side.

Security at the BAF is very strict and we are not allowed to take pictures of anything except our vehicle and our support equipment but these three  images illustrate the process.

The three photos show ATV going up!

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And up…

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And then gently down on the other side before sliding it across to the right position on top of Ariane.

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Note: You cannot see the launcher: it is hidden under the platform (otherwise we would have no place to work). But the platform is on the 11th story of the BAF.

So, on Tuesday (25 January) we had ATV where we wanted it. Yesterday, we progressed with the MLI installation (the protective coverings) and today we finalised the preparations for the cargo loading, which will take place tomorrow and Saturday.

In parallel we have done some checkouts of communication equipment. We’ll get the results next week.

And in parallel to that we have been busy closing out remaining actions from the various readiness reviews which were held in December and January. That is where the chasing (and the being chased…)  bits come in.  So – as you can see – the days are just packed.

Today on the ISS side was also very busy. The HTV, launched on 22 January, arrived and was grappled by the astronauts using the robotic arm. HTV is a Japanese transport vehicle, smaller than ATV, which goes to the US side of the ISS (ATV goes to the Russian side). This was the second flight of the HTV and another good step for the ISS, our global research laboratory.

Tomorrow we do voice-loop training in the main control room at Kourou, Jupiter. This means we are **very** close to launch.

Cheers from a surprisingly sunny Kourou!