With fixes and upgrades complete, BIT was ready to be reassembled. Because this is (hopefully) the last time, lots of arts arts and crafts have started to get ready for flight. Mainly covering things with foam and aluminized mylar to keep them cool during the day and warm overnight.
Javier’s mom, Kleina, joined us during this time. It was good to have non-scientist company, and she kindly cooked several excellent meals for us.
My birthday also happened these days, and Bill got me a surprising present.

Kleina helps blacken the telescope baffle

Aluminum tape to seal the optics box

So much for hopes that not having a cryostat means not having lots of tape

Inspecting reassembled inner frame

Brief return to optics testing with collimator

Adjusting the secondary mirror

My birthday present
Complete with red duct tape bow

Ordinary cane, with a hand grenade handle...

...and a short sword inside!

Barth and the complete inner/middle frames

Steven works on baffle arts and crafts

Group arts and crafts

Peeking over top

Mathew drills some mounting holes

John finishes the flight battery box

The new figurehead

Motor controller boxes

Vy fine-tunes the baffle foam
So that it doesn't interfere with range of motion

Everything gets foam boxes

Steven works in a little cave

More group crafts

Tim joins in baffle covering

And Richard makes foam boxes

Lifting the top back on

Sunset over the launch pad

John uses the mondo solder gun

End of the day
Starting to resemble a complete telescope
And a closer look at the panorama:

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