The Final Tests
October 19th, 2017
A lot has happened these last few days at Esrange Space Center. Yesterday saw the successful launch of the BEXUS 24 balloon, carrying the experiments of four of the other teams.
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The first launch attempt actually had to be aborted due to sudden snowfall. This shows that even with today's highly sophisticated technology, there is not much we can do when the weather decides to say no...
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Unfortunately some of the experiments experienced technical issues during flight, but it's impossible to know what went wrong before the recovery team has retrieved the experiments from the landing location. We are all hoping for good news on this matter!
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Below you can see our experiment being mounted into the Gondola. Notice the black cover used to protect our (very expensive) optics. It will be removed shortly before flight.
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Here is a closer look at the Gondola, with all the experiments mounted and ready for the interference tests.
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These tests require all the experiments to be present, as the aim is to make sure that none of the experiments affect each other in any way.
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If you look closely, you can see that the plexiglass plate with all your favorite quotes has been successfully mounted on our Brain Box.
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Our Sensor Boxes are mounted on the long booms sticking out from the Gondola. Luckily, the team SunbYte also has their telescope mounted on the outside, which helps balance the Gondola.
This is the Ground Station, from where we will monitor and control the experiment during flight.
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This picture was taken during the interference tests, which were very successful. While everyone is relaxed now, we expect the situation to be a lot more tense during the launch and flight!
Ready
to
go
With all the tests completed, we had our Flight Readiness Review with the other teams and the organizers. Project Manager Gustaf Ljungné has signed the Flight Readiness Declaration, so we are now Ready To Go!!
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Countdown begins tomorrow at 05:00 Local Time, and everything points to a launch around 10 o'clock. The exact time will depend on the winds. Wish us luck, and follow the live stream by clicking the button below.