The second phase of my launch pictures starts with rollout of all the equipment to the pad. Mark, Matt and Elio also head out because they need to physically interact with the gondola. Eventually they radio for me with the “urgent” job of taking some official pre-launch picutres. In my capacity of official photographer, I also gain temporary access to the “unsafe” area on the side of the launch pad.
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- Where we left off: BLAST and parachute heading to the pad
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- Entering The Pad
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- Elio-eye view
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- Spool sled heads out next
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- Trixie in action
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- The Boss reaches his spot
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- The spool sled (and the others) go around the pad, to minimize damage to the carefully groomed snow
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- The helium rolls out next
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- Carried on NASA branded sleds with large pressure gauge
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- Matt and Elio collect helmets for our transportation
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- Our transportation: four of the slowest snowmobiles in Antarctica
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- Safety conference
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- Helium traveling around the pad
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- Last of all, the balloon box comes out
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- Gabe joins the safety conference
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- Parachute unpacking and getting attached
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- Matt heads out. He always drives the snowmobile with Max. Pwr
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- CSBF uses the Mules for transport. Probably so nobody has to “ride bitch”
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- Peanut galley. Michael checks out the action
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- Parachute separation electronics
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- The bottom of the parachute. I wasn’t allowed to walk past this point
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- The flight train “ladder” runs along The Boss’s boom
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- Hanging out, with the sun at a great angle to keep us fully charged
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- More hanging out, from the other side, with The Boss and the man lift
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- People started wanting their portraits taken. Mark first
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- Enzo too. He insisted that all his portraits must contain Mt Erebus
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- Nick
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- Pump hose
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- Natalie pauses to admire BLAST
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- Then turns around for her portrait
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- And then models the solar panels for some reason
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- And finally a group photo
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- And, for Juan, a jump photo. We are neither as zoomed nor as synchronized as in my CREAM photo, but it’ll do
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- Eventually excess non-critical personnel (like me) are ushered away, to a safer place
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- Evil sign. Not for indicating direction, which is quite useful, but for blocking the view from our deck
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- Scott observes from his side-of-pad vantage point
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- From beside the deck, where the evil sign is slightly out of the way
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- The helium filling area
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- Balloon unboxing, while driving its box along the flight line
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- Nick holds a lens towards the sun to dry
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- Wider view of the balloon unrolling. It goes a long long way
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- The highbays, and other LDB buildings
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- Balloon unboxed, and being unwrapped a little to attach the parachute
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- BLAST hanging out, in portrait
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- The balloon threaded through the spool
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- Flags. I like flags
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- LDB, seen from my side of the pad
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- More of Mount Erebus being active on launch day
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- I was standing there for a long time with not much to look at. That’s why a lot of these pictures look similar
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- The flight train is tightened up, and doesn’t lie flat down anymore
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- Nick kept me company
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- Parachute inspection
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- A crown of people around the Universal Terminate Package that terminates the balloon (universally?)
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- Vic walks the entire flight line. Thorough
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- Reinforcements are called. To be continued…
I’m pretty sure those are the four slowest skidoos in Antarctica.
That is a great tip particularly to those new
to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate information… Many thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!