Picture Gallery for Sun 2003-11-09 11:30:09 UTC


Click to enlargeRemoving the Star Camera (yes, again) ... nothing like last minute hardware fixes...
Click to enlargeLooking down the Star Camera Pressure Vessel at the Star Camera itself.
Click to enlargeTesting the Star Camera. Just to the right of the monitor is the star camera and lens. Through the window you can see the red filter. Peeking out from behind the frontplate with the window, you can make out one of the belt drives which adjust to focus and aperture of the lens. Next, behind the mounting plate is the white, rectangular camera. To the right of the lens and camera on the table is the star camera computer, attached to the backplate of the pressure vessel.
Click to enlargeA view of the star camera and lens. The lens is a 200 f/2. You can see both belt drives and the stepper motors that run them.
Click to enlargeThe star camera computer. On the top of the stack at left is the laptop harddrive. Underneath the mounting plate for the harddrive is the processor board. At the top of the picture you can see the vido converter.
Click to enlargeGaelen tests the trunk ejection lever in his car.
Click to enlargePutting the star camera back together for the last time (hopefully).
Click to enlargePickup, again.
Click to enlargeThe Jesus Candles burning.
Click to enlargeThe Jesus Candles burning.
Click to enlargeMatt (and others) remove the mirror shield.
Click to enlargeThomas's artwork sadly got a little runny after the incident with the fog...
Click to enlargeLeaving the highbay. This is old hat.
Click to enlargeEd takes a nap at a convenient time.
Click to enlargeBLAST in position... the waiting game begins.
Click to enlargeAlmost dawn...
Click to enlargeA view of all the antennas hanging down below BLAST.
Click to enlargeBLAST on the MLV.
Click to enlargeGetting the spool truck and helium tankers into position.
Click to enlargeBLAST on the MLV.
Click to enlargeThe helium tankers heading towards the fill site.
Click to playMLV driving around.
Click to enlargeRedeploying on a different line.
Click to playMLV driving around.
Click to enlargeFrank measures out the new line.
Click to enlargeMLV parked in the new location.
Click to enlargeMLV parked in the new location.
Click to enlargeDitto. The sun has risen and is peeking out from behind the clouds.
Click to enlargeDitto. On the right you can see the bucket truck which is about to wreck the photo opertunity.
Click to enlargeBLAST hanging from the MLV.
Click to enlargeLooking towards the spool truck.
Click to enlargeHanging on the MLV.
Click to enlargeHanging on the MLV.
Click to enlargeMLV with bucket truck in full photo-op denial mode.
Click to enlargeUnrolling the tarps.
Click to enlargeUnrolling the tarps.
Click to enlargeGaelen takes a picture of BLAST in front of the sun, despite the bucket truck.
Click to enlargeArtist's rendition of Galen's picture.
Click to enlargeUnrolling the parachute.
Click to playUnrolling the parachute movie clip.
Click to enlargeUnrolling the parachute.
Click to enlargeUnrolling the parachute.
Click to enlargeSomethin' a-brewin' down by the the ol' spool truck. By gar, it's been a while.
Click to enlargeThe box on the trailer covered with a red tarp is the balloon box.
Click to enlargeLaying out the fill lines.
Click to enlargeLaying out the fill lines.
Click to enlargeLaying out the fill lines.
Click to enlargeThey've moved the balloon out of the way for the moment... uh-oh.
Click to enlargeWaiting to unroll.
Click to enlargeWaiting to unroll.
Click to enlargeWaiting to unroll.
Click to enlargeThe two helium tankers in position.
Click to enlargeHelium truck with BLAST in the background.
Click to playMoving the balloon box back into position.
Click to enlargeThe balloon crate back in position... woo!
Click to enlargeThe same thing from the other side.
Click to enlargeMark tries to remove the plastic cover from the primary.
Click to enlargeMark tries to remove the plastic cover from the primary.
Click to enlargeIt's gotten stuck on somethning. Gaelen documents.
Click to enlargeMatt gives it a try while Mark and Rob go up on the forklift to see if they can see where it is stuck.
Click to enlargeMark prepares to go up in the bucket truck to do another thing that needs to be done: remove the pump line from the cryostat.
Click to enlargeInspecting the situation.
Click to enlargeMark sticks his arm in there.
Click to enlargeStill at it.
Click to enlargeLooking towards the spool truck.
Click to enlargeUnrolling! (They're realling making this launch attempt look authentic.)
Click to enlargeAttaching the balloon to the parachute.
Click to enlargeA pieball (the little black balloon) is launched to check the low level winds.
Click to enlargeBLAST continues to wait.
Click to enlargePreparing the balloon.
Click to enlargeStarting the fill.
Click to enlargeFilling continues. Although the balloon looks pretty big already, it's only the very top of the balloon that is actualy filled with helium. The rest of the balloon will expand as the balloon ascends and the atmospheric pressure drops.
Click to enlargeOne of the fill tubes.
Click to enlargeAnother shot of the balloon.
Click to enlargeTanker, balloon, MLV, BLAST.
Click to enlargeStill filling.
Click to enlargeStill filling. Shortly after taking this picture, one of the NSBF Riggers came and told me that I was standing in the Instant-Death-Zone of the balloon fill area. If the rigger holding the fill tube loses his hold on it, the tube would flail around (like a fire hose would) and I might be hit, rather hardly, with the big tube of metal at the end of the line... oops. Needless to say, I moved on.
Click to enlargeFilling.
Click to enlargeBLAST on the MLV during the fill. Notice the tension on the flightline.
Click to enlargeAnother shot of the balloon.
Click to enlargeBLAST again.
Click to playA panorama of the flightline.
Click to enlargeLooking down the flightline. Someone appears to be inspecting the parachute.
Click to enlargeAnother view of the launch site.
Click to enlargeDitto.
Click to enlargeGaelen takes a really cool picture of the prelaunch deployment.
Click to enlargeBLAST with the balloon behind it.
Click to enlargeLooking down the line.
Click to enlargeLooking down the line.
Click to enlargeLooking down the line.
Click to enlargeBLAST's more photogenic side... maybe.
Click toplayThe Launch video.

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© 2003 D. V. Wiebe. Generated Wed 2024-12-04 03:32:45 UTC