Day 8: Experiment review

Yesterday we worked hard to finish installing the experiment: all day long putting foam on the edges and using kilometres of adhesive tape. Eventually, we passed the safety review; the CEV people are good guys… We got great support from Cristophe Mora of Novespace. Actually there were some things that were not entirely perfect. For example, there were some bolts left loose and some more tape to put.

While we were waiting for our turn to be reviewed we had time to do some fun things. We spent some time outside playing rugby, actually learning to play from the English guys.

Inside there was a contest: it consisted of building a landing device for a raw egg. The egg was to be dropped from about four metres. The team that managed to make the egg survive won some cookies.

We are getting more and more excited. We are looking forward to the party tonight. Then we will have the weekend to get some rest before next week’s flights.

Team 1023 – Flash & Splash

This day has been very important and special, for two reasons: First, we received our fabulous astronaut suits and secondly, the experiment had to be approved. Wearing these suits, some of us looked as if we were in our baby pyjamas; while others looked like babies in their dad’s pyjamas… Anyways, there was a sort of very nice “Tintin on the moon” atmosphere.

Our experiment was the first to be checked during the safety visit. People from ESA and Novespace, more serious than ever, were looking at the finest details of our experiment. Thankfully, at the end of the day, the only things we had to add were a piece of tape and a cable tie. Our (big) baby was ready to fly and we were ready for a night out!