Our group is now in Antarctica, in Willy Field, on the Ross Ice
shelf near the Ross Island, to prepare the new flight of BOOMERanG. In the
following you can find a log and a bunch of pictures (we update when we can). These
should give you some feeling of this adventure ...
On Jan.23 a C130 overflight has located the
payload in its cold storage location on the Antarctic plateau.
It is sitting on the front side, in good shape. The parachute
is frozen at ground and has been detached. A recovery mission is planned
for saturday
On Jan.21 the instrument has been terminated. The impact site is
near Dome Fuji, a Japanese base on the Antarctic Plateau.
After about 10 days of good data taking, we had to shut down
because the balloon
lost altitude each day. This did not affect our ability
to make very clean CMB polarization measurements, but eventually
the shear winds were too strong (at about 70kft) to control the
telescope pointing. A data recovery mission has been planned
for this season. News soon on this. Meanwhile, analysis
of the satellite transmitted data has already started.
As of
Jan.10 the instrument is performing very well. Our major worry
now is the altitude of the balloon, significantly lower than usual.
On
Jan.6 2003, at 05:00 UT, B2K has been launched. The long wait is over. The day was
very long and tense. The process started the day before, with the
cryo team transfering liquid He, liquid N and cycling the 3He fridge
for the n-th time. The process took about 40 hours.
After the last calibrations and complete check-out, the
payload was picked-up by the NSBF crew at 9:30 AM of a cloudy
but windless day. It was transferred to the launch pad, connected
to the flight chain (parachute, telemetry, balloon etc..) and
launched at 18 PM. Half the way during inflation of the balloon
wind picked-up, so the launch was more adventurous than usual.
But in the end everything went just OK. B2K is now cruising at
about 38 km of altitude (see last picture), happily scanning the
sky looking for tiny polarization signals in the CMB.
As of
2 Jan 2003 , BOOMERanG is still waiting for its launch opportunity.
Highlights of the last few days have been a lively discussion about
Perutrbations in General Relativity between Phil and Eric, the
traditional party at Scott Base on the last day of the year,
the toast for new year in Italy at noon of Jan.1st
(Happy new year from the suothernmost italians in the world !);
sessions of star camera focusing and final compatibility test
with NSBF (despite of 20 knots winds and bad weather).
The success of the compatibility test was celebrated
the italian way (pasta and fish dinner by Armando and Francesco).
Dec.29
has been a launch day for the ATIC experiment. The NSBF
crew made a great job and the payload was launched smoothly. We are next
in line, and there should be good weather conditions on tuesday. So we have
started the cryogenic cycle to be ready for compatibility and launch. This
and the last sealing / taping on the payload will occupy us full time in
the coming 36 hours.
On Dec
28 we have seen the sun again. We have realigned the sun sensors and
tested again the pointing system. We are still in stand by for launches,
but the weather is improving. A Twin Otter from the Italian base in Terra
Nova Bay, stopping over in McMurdo, left Christmas presents for us. They
have been greatly appreciated. Many thanks to the Italian Antarctic Program ! In the evening
we had short walk to the historical Hut of Scott, built 100 years ago.
The week from Dec. 21 to Dec.27
has been a bad weather week. We took good pictures of Mnt. Discovery while
our group and the Balloon crew worked to be ready for launching. Christmas
eve dinner was remarkable and will remain in our memory for long time. Work
was mainly on cryogenic operations and flight planning. At some point Barth
was trapped inside the payload. No risk he will be flown. With the persistence
of bad weather, our launch date slips day by day..
On 20
December 2002 a storm made travelingfrom McMurdo to Willy Field
impossible. We went back to the integration barn the day after. DDec. 21was
a "taping party" where we sealed all cracks in the payload panels. Also,
Armando's bbirthdaywas celebrated in the galley. A strange animal (half
pig, half cat) was noticed on top of the barn.
In 19
December 2002 we have pictures from a flying liquid helium transfer,
the subsequent pumpdown, and the compatibility test with the payload out
of the integration barn for the first time!
On 14
December 2002 a lone seal visited our site. Silvia spoke at length
with her.
in 13
December 2002 only a few photos including a teleconference with first
grade kids in a school in Italy
Highlights of 12
December 2002 are the launch of a small pathfinder balloon to check
stratospheric circulation, and scenic photos of white island and pressure
waves in the ice shelf near Ross base. Dismounting the primary mirror of
the polarized source is also documented.
10
December 2002 we have pictures of routine Willy Field life, including
the tent where we eat and a windy travel back to McMurdo.
In 9
December 2002 we have already mounted on the gondola most of the flight
subsystems: the primary mirror, the cryostat, the data acquisition and attitude
control electronics. Highlights are the observation of a tethered source
for beam pattern measurements and the scan of the focal plane with a polarized
source filling the telescope beam (AKA the paolorizer). A short hike to
Observation Hill is also documented. And don't miss the portrait of skua
Roberto !
In 19
November 2002 you find further photos of payload development, and the
visit of a penguin.
In 11
November 2002 you find pictures of the first month of activity: arrival
in Willy Field, work on the focal plane, on the cryostat, on the gondola
frame.
