Yesterday we successfully conducted out pre-flight compatibility test! This means attaching everything that will fly: all of CSBF’s little sensors, and the flight train, parachute, terminate package, etc. Then we hang off The Boss and drive a little away from the highbay so that radio signals are cleaner. While it hangs there for a few hours, we pretend it’s flying and make sure that everything works as expected. And, it turns out, things worked as expected. Now, after a little more arts and crafts and touching up, we will be ready to fly. However, EBEX will fly before us, and we will not launch before the 20th. So, we will have a while to practice and test before launch. […]
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A couple indoor panoramas of the highbay. Showing our working area now that Super-TIGER is flying away, and the Side-Scoop of Joy is “stored” on the gondola. […]
Yesterday we installed the Side-Scoop of Joy, now that there’s enough free space in the highbay. This is a large sun shield structure mounted around the telescope; the joy is due to it allowing us to observe desirable regions, which during the Antarctic summer are very close to the sun. Because this makes the mirror much less accessible, some last mirror touch-ups were conducted first. Plus, the mirror and scoop are both shiny. Today has a shiny theme. […]
Yesterday I took a day off. I did almost nothing, and took zero pictures. So, all I have to post are a few random things taken since last time. Happy 2012-12-12! […]
Monday was Super-TIGER’s first roll-out for a launch attempt. Somehow, Monday also managed to be their launch day. When the usual bus arrived at around 8:00, they had already been out for many hours. BLAST-Pol had been dropped of at the dance floor to make way for TIGER to exit our shared highbay. And TIGER was out on the launch pad with the flight train laid out and the balloon ready to open. But there was too much fog to see anything. Once the fog had cleared, inflation was well underway (though it takes a couple hours). Slowly, members of the BLAST-Pol, Super-TIGER, and EBEX teams trickled out to the spectator area. Launches are always exciting, if maybe a little too exciting when it’s your payload on the line. […]
Laura and Barth brought some decorations down with them, and it was decided that yesterday was the correct time to bring them out. Our mezzanine in the highbay is somewhat shinier, lightier, candy-canier, and generally more festive. […]
Yesterday some of us took a tour of the 
The last couple days were spent with a lot of the team working together on a last-minute overhaul of our power system. The previous system, where all the solar panels charged all the batteries, which powered all the things, has been split in two. By separating our sensitive electronics, we’ve reduced noise and increased performance. These are the photos I collected while being busy not working, in between stints of being busy working. […]
I’ve been busy over the last few days, so haven’t taken many photos. Here’s a small selection of what’s been happening. We’ve also had a bit of weather: some heavy winds and actual snow. I know you’re thinking, “well, there’s lots of snow in Antarctica”, but mostly it blows around rather than falling from the sky. […]
Yesterday we went outside to the porch for some testing. We ended up spending much of the time debugging, when we really hoped to demonstrate that everything works. Not quite there yet, but we still have time. While we were out there, EBEX went out on its deck to observe the sky for a while. It was fun to see the neighbouring telescopes. Finally, because Juan and Greg will be leaving us, we took a little time to pose for group photos. […]