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Communicating through NSBF / ANITA sets up
Once the TIGER
instrument was secure, the NSBF riggers cabled the gondola and hoisted
the instrument so that the ANITA
pressure vessel could be extracted. The pressure vessel
weighs around 270 pounds and it doesn't seem that easy to get
underneath TIGER and lift it off its perch on the gondola and to the
ground. But leave it to the NSBF riggers, and the job was done in
a flash. The ANITA team spent the rest of the day getting into
the pressure chamber to run some tests and begin making sure that
everything is wired correctly and ready to go.
The TIGER instrument seems to be working properly,
so we decided that it might be our best opportunity to check our
connection with the NSBF crew. During launch, NSBF is responsible
for sending our commands to the instrument and retrieving our data both
through a line-of-sight link with the instrument when it is a few hours
up, and by way of a satellite link when it is out of line-of-sight
range. Drew and Chris set up their Ground Support Equipment (GSE)
and we cabled up our command computers to send commands through them
instead of directly to TIGER itself. And we were able to send
commands through. There are still a few more tests to do to make
sure that our commands and data will be sent to and fro, but that is a
good start.
Back to McMurdo. My new room is quite a bit nicer than
where I was staying in building 155. Most of our science group
and the NSBF crew are staying in one of the three 203 buildings (A, B,
or C). The rooms are small, but the lounging rooms are nice and
the general atmosphere is friendlier than the constant in-and-out feel
that 155 has. After finding a good set of earplugs to help with a
little snoring that I find myself privy to, I think I'll be in good
shape!
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