Yesterday the cryostat was put up on the gondola. This is possibly the trickiest lift we do, but we ended up doing it so many times in Palestine, that we’ve had a lot of practice. Anyway, even though “all lifts are hazardous lifts”, this one warranted more attention. So, about a dozen people were involved.
In the morning, Laura and Natalie went through some gyro orientation tests that can’t be done once the cryostat is mounted.
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- For gyro tests, the inner frame is jacked to vertical. Book of Knowledge very useful again
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- Jacking is fun. Natalie agrees
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- Looks like Laura agrees too
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- Natalie watches the gyro data
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- Insides of the vacuum leak checker. After being packed poorly, it needs seeing to
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- Leak checker circuits
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- With his orange hat, Matt is too cool to wear it forwards
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- Upside-down Elio
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- Matt does some auguring
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- And plants a flag. We put flags every 50m, for focus tests
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- At tea time, Barth talks to Natalie (who didn’t like the pictures with her)
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- Part of her problem is she thinks I’m taking too many closeups. I don’t know why she would think that
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- Juan, through a gap in the foam panels he’s making for the sun shields
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- Nick multitasks, holding both the pendant and a suspension cable
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- At the pre-lift meeting, Mark explains what will happen
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- Alec is Not Australian. During the operation, he acted as a spotter
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- Luke looks. Up close, as the lifting hardware is secured
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- Lifting starts, as the peanut gallery makes jokes on the mezzanine
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- Bye bye belly band
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- The supervisors take up their familiar pose by the door (presumably for ease of evacuation)
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- Guiding in. Part of Jeff’s contract says he must work below Mark, to break his fall
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- Gabe watches intently
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- Team Guide Down watches and prods. Conveniently, they all wear black
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- Lowering proceeds very slowly as they ensure nothing catches
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- Everybody watches very closely (like Jeff)
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- Even Nick and Vic from the ground
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- Especially Larry, who was working the crane
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- Elio examines the rough alignment of the window
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- Things go well. Matt takes a joke break
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- Rollers define the bottom plane, ease alignment
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- Elio moves in to attach the fine alignment mirror over the window
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- Attention fades as things wind down. Who wants to make odds whether Gabe is checking email or playing games?
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