<\/a>Launch vehicle arrives <\/div>
The riggers are ready<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>SuperBIT is also ready <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Big Bill has big wheel <\/div>
Plus one on the other side too!<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>SuperBIT and Big Bill together <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Rolling out of the highbay <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>SuperBIT outside <\/div>
With yellow safety stands<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Swinging around away from the highbay <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Mathew and Bill gesture importantly <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Big Bill in profile <\/div>
Curtis driving<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Tending to electronic and suspension cables on top <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Switching to the launch hook <\/div>
For launching!<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Installing the ballast hopper <\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>![Installing "solar panels" \u2022 <a style="font-size:0.8em;" href="http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/27717602@N03\/34887516232\/" target="_blank">View on Flickr<\/a>](https:\/\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4235\/34887516232_d490b4a6c7_m.jpg "Installing \\"solar panels\\"")
<\/a>
<\/a>Installing "solar panels" <\/div>
There's no charging this flight, but we want to test that the presence of panels is okay<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Bill pokes the experiment with a stick <\/div>
I don't recall why, but I assure you that this was vitally important<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>On the move <\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Driving away <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Down towards the launch pad <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Keeping SuperBIT on a tight leash <\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Through the gate <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Arriving at the launch pad <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Helium tanker <\/div>
And the balloon spool in the background<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Laying out parachute and flight train <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Balloon setup hidden behind trees <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Mathew rides the cherry picker to remove lens caps <\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Start of inflation <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Letting the balloon go <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Inflation continues <\/div>
With ghostbustery helium stream guns<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>John returns from hours out in the heat <\/div>
A part of him didn't make it back<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Parachute tensioned and lifted <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Peanut gallery <\/div>
On the roof of the highbay<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Among the antennas <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Balloon peeks above the trees <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Anticipation <\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Blloon release! <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Billowy balloon blows Big Bill-ward <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Launch vehicle on the move <\/div>
In needs to get directly under the balloon for release, so that SuperBIT doesn't swing into the ground<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Turning <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Speeding towards its spot <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>SuperBIT comes off the pin <\/div>
Slightly askew<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Off she goes! <\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Balloon rising, collar falling <\/div>
The collar holds all the helium in the top part of the balloon during inflation. It bursts off after launch.<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>Flying away <\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>SuperBIT rises as the sun sets <\/div>
<\/a>
<\/a>
<\/a>
<\/a>![\"I](\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/5\/4261\/34887528302_93e677b25a_n.jpg\")
<\/a> On the Eve of Canada Day 2016 (ie last year….these photos have been sitting unloved on my computer for a while), SuperBIT launched for its overnight test flight. Now that SuperBIT is approaching flight readiness for another flight, it’s about damn time I posted these. Like all launch days, it was full of frantic work, waiting, excitement, and dread. Then it launches and there is no longer anything you can do except send commands on a computer and hope everything works. There is a brief rest during ascent, in preparation for working all through the night once the a balloon reaches float altitude. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6557,"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6556\/revisions\/6557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/droppingballast.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}