I, pad rat...

Pretty much the entire work day was spent at the pad today, mostly standing by as the French team verified their equipment and communications links. I'm back at the hotel now and intending to rest for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

The "lift" (as it's called) occurred this morning, and various closeout operations have been completed, and apparently, the rollout to the upper stage fueling station will occur tomorrow morning, with the rest of the day taken up with the first phase of low-pressure propellant loading. Meanwhile, most of our group will be taking the day off, hopefully at a more substantial "zone of relaxation" than the one that had been arranged for us a little while ago.

Cheers...