As we sail toward Home Port today,
the launch team has completed a very successful launch of Eutelsat’s 70B
satellite; the post launch quick look report is completed with no significant
issues identified; the 70B spacecraft is healthy and has successfully deployed
its solar arrays and reflectors and is now drifting into its orbital slot; it is
truly a successful voyage.
In parallel, the launch team is
gearing up for our next launch in January. There
have been
daily calls with the team back at Home Port finalizing operations schedules, and
personnel planning. The spacecraft is already at Home Port undergoing
stand-alone operations. The Boeing built payload assembly arrived to Home Port
on 5 December and is undergoing stand-alone processing. The Zenit
1st and
2nd stages
are on the way to Home Port having just passed through the Panama canal a few
days ago. The Block DM-SL upper stage is currently on the ACS and will begin
stand-alone operations after the ACS returns to Home Port. There is a lot of good energy flowing as we have
completed 5 launches in 15 months following completion of our
reorganization in October 2010.
It is not an easy business to compete in and just having backlog is not enough
you need to be able to effectively execute and deliver on the 3 R’s of a launch
service company; Reliable, Repeatable and a positively Rememberable experience,
one customer at a time. Sea Launch knows how to do just that and has
demonstrated our ability to execute where some of the new providers are
struggling to develop the momentum required to deliver on the 3 R’s.
Over the past 20 days I have
written about many of the team that are up in the front rows on executing a
successful mission. But It
takes a lot of support to execute a launch regardless of the launch vehicle and
no matter where in the world the launch site is located. Most land based launch
sites are supported by the local community for hotels, restaurants, medical
facilities and entertainment. The launch site itself has multiple facilities and
is spread out over a large amount of acreage. Sea Launch is different, in that our facility at Home Port is quite small in comparison. Our
hotel, restaurant, medical, entertainment and launch vehicle
integration/assembly facility, fueling hall, launch control center, and helipad
are located right here on the ACS. As a result we have a number of people who
provide support to our infrastructure that, although not
directly involved in the aerospace aspect of the mission, play a significant role in keeping the machine running in top
form. I have written quite a bit about the great job that Chef Geir and the
entire catering team under Chief Catering Officer Ove Rosenberg provide. There
are others, for instance we have a small hospital on board run by Dr. Sergey
Feldman. Dr. Feldman is here to treat most minor injuries and sickness and in
case of more serious situations he is capable of stabilizing the patient until
we are able to get them to a hospital or medical facility. Dr. Feldman and Nurse Mildred Dadis have been
working behind the scenes to keep all of us healthy.
Nurse Mildred Dadis and Dr. Sergey Feldman in the ACS Hospital...
The heart of the ship is the
“Engine Room.” Chief Engineer Jarle Ringdal is responsible for all the technical
aspects of the marine systems of which most of them can be found in the engine
room. The ACS is powered by two eight cylinder Wartsila Diesel Engines each
outputting approximately 10500 horsepower. The two engines drive a single shaft
with a variable pitch propeller. The shaft spins at a fixed speed and the speed
of the vessel is controlled by varying the pitch of the propeller. The engine
room is manned by two people 24 hours a day working shifts of 4 hours with an 8
hour rest period between.
Most of the time we rarely see these guys but they are hard at work keeping the
vessel running in top form. Chief Engineer Ringdal’s team
includes:
Motor Men, Ernesto Laosantos, & Joel Pacheco
Wiper, Marlon Lopez
Chief Electrician, Hans Myre
Electrician, Igor Medvind
Electronics, Kim Sjolund
Refer Engineer, Reynaldo Abonador
1st Engineer, Johan Txolix
3rd Engineer, Eugenio Razodon
3rd Engineer, Reynaldo Andal
Congratulations to Chief Engineer
Ringdal’s team they have performed flawlessly this mission and although we
rarely see them, their contribution and hard work does not go unnoticed.
ACS Chief Engineer, Jarle Ringdal and Engine Room Watch Team
ACS Chief Engineer, Jarle Ringdal explains the engine room control system to a tour
Hanging in the Engine Control room is the plaque commemorating the birth of the ACS back in 1997..
Nothing but Diesel Engines to see...
Each of the two Diesels adorned with a bronze identification plaque, awful small plaque for such a big engine...
Now that is a valve... Chief Engineer Ringdal demonstrates the size of one of the cylinder valves... There are 4 of these per cylinder...
Well organized tools...
We also have a stellar laundry
service on board, after all we are hoteling over 230 guests and that means bed
linens, towels, uniforms, personal clothing. Just like a hotel you drop off in
the morning and by the afternoon your clothes are hanging on your cabin door,
only difference it’s no charge. Thanks to Nicolas Perez and Vergel Repia for
your hard work keeping our laundry clean.
Nicolas Perez and Vergel Repia at work in the laundry...not much rest for these two guys...
In addition to the Marine crew
and launch team we also have two U.S. Government monitors from the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) on board; Charles Huet and Ed Springer. These
guys are here to not only monitor operations to ensure we remain compliant with
our launch license but they integrate into the team and help us achieve a
successful mission. Charles took some time and wrote nearly 2 pages of of his
impressions about the launch campaign, here are some excerpts from his
input:
What are two inspectors from the
FAA doing on a ship in the middle of the Pacific? Well it all started when Sea
Launch needed a launch license from somewhere in the world. Originally, Sea
Launch decided to be based out of the Cayman Islands and be under British law.
However, Sea Launch found US regulations to be easier to work with so they
applied for a US launch license. The FAA has delegated authority from The
Secretary of Transportation under US statute to issue licenses and inspect
launches in order to ensure public safety, safety of uninvolved property, and
interests of the US government. The office responsible for carrying out this
duty is the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), a line of business
within the FAA under the DOT. As safety inspectors, we ensure the public is
protected by monitoring license applicants like Sea Launch to ensure compliance
with Federal regulations and representations made by Sea Launch in their
application.
A typical day begins with the
sound of the alarm at 7 am. A quick shower at a coordinated time and off to
breakfast. The galley greets you with an all you can eat buffet of scrambled
eggs, bacon, sausage, Spam, oatmeal, cheese. After breakfast we grab our
laptops and setup in the “office”, an open space with tables in the Boeing area
formerly known as customer area 2. A quick check on emails and off we go to the
Mission Director’s (MD) meeting at 8:30. We then meet with the safety official
to go over the meeting schedule and decide what meetings we should attend.
Meetings range from off nominal discussions, to vessel position decisions, to
post launch reviews, to crisis at sea plans. There are also two rehearsals
prior to launch.
After the launch the long voyage
home begins. We still keep busy with hot wash meetings and post launch review
meetings, but the nights seem to last forever. Sea Launch tries to keep spirits
up by having some sort of activity in the bar every night. With the launch
completed, thoughts turn to returning home. I leave the ship exited to return
home but a little sad that I am leaving my shipmates behind and the ship that
became my home for the last three weeks.
FAA Monitors, Charles Huet and Ed Springer
Finally recognition has to go out
to the two people on board that allow us to communicate across the language
barrier, our translators. When I first started running the ELUS company one of
my first statements was addressed toward communication… “Communication is the essence of what we do,
our ability to effectively communicate will ultimately determine our
success.” I truly
believe in this statement. We can have the smartest Rocket Scientists sitting
around a table but if we cannot communicate then we are doomed for failure.
Sasha Trushkin and Elena Pysher are the keystones to our ability to effectively
work across the English-Russian language barrier for without them we would be
just a bunch of smart Rocket Scientists sitting around a table, with them we are
Sea Launch… Every document, every meeting, every rehearsal, every integrated
social event and of course launch requires translation, there is no shortage of
work for them to perform and it is just not casual conversation it is Rocket
Science that they translate flawlessly, allowing us to effectively communicate
and execute our mission.
Elena Pysher with an equatorial sunset in the background...
Sasha Trushkin translating to Def Leppard's Hysteria album...how else can you explain that grin...
There are still many of the team
that I have not had time to address by name but each and every person on the ACS
and LP fills a specific role and contributes to our Voyage to Success and on
behalf of ELUS and Sea Launch Thank you and Great Job!
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