Starting to Come Together

Last week Spider started to come together as a complete experiment, rather than a collection of parts. The gondola frame was completed, and most of its "outer frame" electronics were installed. Then it was moved over into the west highbay with out cryostat Llorothaag, in preparation for them coming together. NASA’s electronics were also installed, which will eventually allow us to communicate with the ground. In the land of cryogenics, we also started pre-cooling Lloro with liquid nitrogen.

Our limited times with Susan and with Sho came to an end, but it was great to have them here.

TIghtening screws and checking the gondola frame

Corwin models proper cryogenic PPE

(Personal protective equipment)

Growing mess in front of lloro

Outer frame electonics

All mounted to a honeycomb floor in the gondola

Hex-pixelized hardware

Looking up through the honeycomb floor

Elle starts to tame the cryostat's cable mess

Re-checking detector connectivity

To test for cryogenic wiring issues

The sun shield frame

Using our ladders as supports

Jasin in bunny suit with carbon fiber

To avoid carbon fiber itches

Reassembling the "space invader" frame

Obligatory cat picture

I get him tangled up in the stair rails while playing

Outer frame electronics

Now with cables!

Cables!

Converging on the "break out box" (BOB)

Cleaned up floor space

Almost, except for the spreader bar

Maybe we can fit something in this space?

Does the gondola from the other highbay want to go on an adventure?

Gondola adventure

Parking the gondola in its west highbay spot

Right beside Lloro

So they can get to know each other again

And maybe their electronics can mingle

SuperBIT truck

Another experiment, sharing some team members with Spider, arrives

SuperBIT's stuff

Offloaded, but the people aren't here yet.

Shinifying

To protect the suspension cables from UV exposure

More carpentry

Building a scale to weigh 1000 lb liquid helium dewars

Safety stands support Spider's sides

In preparation for NASA's SIP to be installed

(Support Instrumentation Package, our interface to talk to the ground)

Carefully forking in

And wrestling the rest of the way

Installed SIP

SIP Mounting

(Because I couldn't find a good photo of how we did it last time, so you're welcome future me)

Mounting the elevation drive actuators

Bonus: shirt-based velcro storage