Yesterday we mounted the as-finished-as-they’ll-get-until-flight-ready sun shields. This first involved moving the shields around the gondola, which is really tricky in a highbay where the crane only runs down the middle, and you can’t move things off to the side. But it worked.
This makes the gondola start to look really complete. That isn’t to say that we’re anywhere close to finished, only that it’s starting to really feel like a telescope that might work. So, I was inspired to take a few general pictures too.
-
- There is just barely enough room to move the shields around
-
- I catch Joseph doing BLAST work
-
- So it seems like a good time to get a closeup
-
- With the shields up close, I get a good view of the Omnidirectional Sun Sensor (OSS)
-
- And other antennas, like the Iridium one at the back
-
- The complete collection of crap on top the sun shields. Included are ten (TEN!) GPS antennas
-
- Joseph takes advantage of the shield’s proximity to the mezzanine to mount the HGA
-
- For now it lives in a big white hemisphere. Eventually it gets a full sphere
-
- Cryostat and things at the back of the inner frame
-
- The ACS, break-out-box, and computer
-
- The temporary DAS/Receiver rack. All sad and empty now
-
- Really starting to look like a telescope
-
- For beam mapping, Matt and I laid out 150m signal cables for the XY stage. We mark the path with lots of flags so people don’t run it over
-
- This sign helps too
-
- The stage, set up on a shipping container, so the telescope can see it
-
- Sun shield attaching is a big job. I may have been the only person not involved. Vic Watches
-
- This time, Mark operates the crane. The only qualified person yet to do so is Jeff
-
- I get a picture of Barth, sporting the daring blue and backwards hard hat
-
- Luke watches. I’m adding this one only because I know his mom sometimes checks this site
-
- Joseph and Natalie
-
- BLAST, looking good. Damn good
Sometimes? Really? Only 2 or 3 times a day. Plus co-workers, family, friends, his grade school teachers, total strangers…..Everyone knows about BLAST!
Thank you again for such an informative site. This last picture really put it in perspective for me.
Take care – have fun.
Thank you for your great site! I love checking every day and you take fantastic pictures. I’m Barth’s Mom and of course, I too, love seeing the occasional picture of him. The nieces and nephews are addicted to “What is Uncle Barth doing today”. Although I suspect your wild life pictures in NZ had the greatest impact. Thank you for such good communication.
OK, let’s hear from all the moms. Yes, I check the site daily as well, that was where I discovered the interesting condition of dry-frostbitten eyes! And I admit that I have passed the link onto a number of relatives who are wondering what Laura is actually doing in Antarctica!
Thanks for sharing all the pictures and observations, it makes the distances much easier to deal with. Good luck to you all for a successful deployment.
Steve, I am so glad that you are working with Barth, the Blast team and such a great blogger! I love seeing what everyone is up to and how Blast is coming along. Thank you, Thank you for keeping me informed. Sue Netterfield, the wife of Barth.
Now that the other Mom’s have gotten the ball rolling I’ll join in! Thanks so much for this blog Steve. You do a great job and I’m sure it takes a lot of your time! I’m Nick’s mom and I’m coming out of the blog closet. Loved all the pictures in Texas but most of all now when it’s impossible to make a call. Wishing great success with BLAST Pol. Thanks again for keeping us posted!
Thanks all of you for the support! I don’t collect any sort of statistics, so never really know how many people follow the site—or which posts/photos are most popular, etc.