A loud roar hereabouts...
Jun. 16th, 2004 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexpgpThat's what's expected to happen in about another 6 hours (at 4:27 am local time, on the dot).
I was asleep until someone called on the phone (my bad for leaving it connected). As I moved back toward the bed, I just knew that sleep was not going to come again easily, so I decided to process yesterday's photos. (Yes, what was lost has been found.)
Recall that yesterday, the team went out to the launch pad to sign the payload fairing. As everyone got off the bus, they were greeted by what seems to be a mad jumble of pipes, ducts, trusses, and other heavy iron that make up the Mobile Service Tower, about which I've written previously. One thing I don't think I mentioned was how claustrophobic the spaces on the tower become once the launch vehicle is nestled within the "arms" of the tower.
What I found particularly interesting is how the structure has been modified, and modified, and modified yet again over the years (the original structure was built in the late 60s/early 70s). There are cables everywhere, most of them encased in metal braid, and nearly all of them fairly thick and terminating in connectors the size of a small coffee can. There are also a number of clever mechanical devices all over the place, the better to deal with things such as propellant lines, air conditioning ducts, instrumentation racks, and what have you.
Here's another shot of the tower, from what I think of as the "front." You can see the "arms" of the tower pretty clearly in this shot, where they are closed around the launch vehicle.
The group rode the elevators (occupancy limit, 5 people plus the operator) up to Level 7, where the Intelsat corporate logo was located on the payload fairing. The festivities were started by the senior Intelsat representative, who signed the upper left hand corner of the logo. ILS management then took its turn, after which the event turned into a sort of orderly free-for-all for the rest of the team.
Some dedications were humorous, but many more expressed best wishes or dedications to various people. Mine fell into the latter category, as shown in the following photo:
Here it is, nearly 10:30 pm and I'm not tired at all. Rats.
I shall lie down and close my eyes... maybe some form of unconsciousness will develop that will qualify as a nap before I have to report for work at 2 am.
Cheers...
I was asleep until someone called on the phone (my bad for leaving it connected). As I moved back toward the bed, I just knew that sleep was not going to come again easily, so I decided to process yesterday's photos. (Yes, what was lost has been found.)
Recall that yesterday, the team went out to the launch pad to sign the payload fairing. As everyone got off the bus, they were greeted by what seems to be a mad jumble of pipes, ducts, trusses, and other heavy iron that make up the Mobile Service Tower, about which I've written previously. One thing I don't think I mentioned was how claustrophobic the spaces on the tower become once the launch vehicle is nestled within the "arms" of the tower.
What I found particularly interesting is how the structure has been modified, and modified, and modified yet again over the years (the original structure was built in the late 60s/early 70s). There are cables everywhere, most of them encased in metal braid, and nearly all of them fairly thick and terminating in connectors the size of a small coffee can. There are also a number of clever mechanical devices all over the place, the better to deal with things such as propellant lines, air conditioning ducts, instrumentation racks, and what have you.
Here's another shot of the tower, from what I think of as the "front." You can see the "arms" of the tower pretty clearly in this shot, where they are closed around the launch vehicle.
The group rode the elevators (occupancy limit, 5 people plus the operator) up to Level 7, where the Intelsat corporate logo was located on the payload fairing. The festivities were started by the senior Intelsat representative, who signed the upper left hand corner of the logo. ILS management then took its turn, after which the event turned into a sort of orderly free-for-all for the rest of the team.
Some dedications were humorous, but many more expressed best wishes or dedications to various people. Mine fell into the latter category, as shown in the following photo:
Here it is, nearly 10:30 pm and I'm not tired at all. Rats.
I shall lie down and close my eyes... maybe some form of unconsciousness will develop that will qualify as a nap before I have to report for work at 2 am.
Cheers...
