 | | | | |
| | | | | |
|
GOCE at a glance The first of a seriesLooking into the forces that shape our planetA technological achievementAn intimate portrait of EarthFacts and figures About the spacecraft About the launch Meet the team Multimedia Image galleryVideosAnimationsOnline resourcesServices
| | | | | | | | | GOCE container | |
Entry 16: Team make ready to wake up GOCE
12 February 2009 – Now 12 days on since the GOCE
'advance team' arrived at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and preparations to wake up the GOCE satellite and resume the launch campaign are going well.
Although temperatures are down to -30°C and the ground covered with snow, the team quickly acclimatised and started work on checking the facilities, the GOCE satellite and equipment that will be used during the launch campaign. The satellite has been kept safely inside the transport container filled with nitrogen in order to ensure controlled environmental conditions during the storage period. In addition, the premises hosting the satellite transport container and the support equipment have been kept sealed and monitored via a remote system of webcams and temperature/pressure sensors installed by ESA and Thales Alenia space before leaving Plesetsk last October.
The next logistical job was to clear the main processing hall, which was occupied by GOCE equipment, so that the last series of tests on the Rockot launcher's Breeze Upper Stage can be carried out over the next two weeks. This sequence of tests represent the final part of the verification activities performed on the launcher following the implementation of the corrective measures to third stage, which were established by the Russian authorities as a result of the anomaly that delayed the launch last autumn.
Within the next week, the whole ESA/Thales Alenia Space team will arrive and operations will start with the 'awakening' of the GOCE satellite which has been in storage at the launch site since last October.
Please see the video reports (links in right-hand bar) from Plesetsk.
| |
| | GOCE video diary  Back in PlesetskFirst day activitiesGOCE out of storageGOCE joins breezeGOCE sealed in fairing Diary in pictures GOCE launch diary Entry 1: GOCE prepares for shipment to RussiaEntry 2: GOCE begins its journey to launch siteEntry 3: GOCE arrives safely at launch site in RussiaEntry 4: GOCE unpacked and alignment check completeEntry 5: GOCE checked for gas leaksEntry 6: Launch team reaches full strengthEntry 7: Gradiometer checked and launcher rolled out for testingEntry 8: GOCE satellite joins BreezeEntry 9: Last-ever look at GOCEEntry 10: GOCE on the launch padEntry 11: Launch of GOCE delayedEntry 12: Satellite activities resume 24 SeptemberEntry 13: GOCE team gearing up for new launch dateEntry 14: GOCE launch postponedEntry 15: March launch planned for GOCEEntry 17: GOCE revealed as container openedEntry 18: A busy weekEntry 19: GOCE meets launcher Upper StageEntry 20: EncapsulationEntry 21: On the launch padEntry 22: Launch rehearsedEntry 23: GOCE launched and in orbitEntry 24: Going homeIn depth PlesetskRelated links EurockotThales Alenia Space
|
