Transit Day 3 – Rehearsal 2 Day

With the Thanksgiving holiday behind us the launch team gets down to serious work.  Today is the second of three planned launch rehearsals in support of the Eutelsat 70B mission.  The launch team will assemble in the Launch Control Center (LCC) and various other workstations on the ACS at 0730 for communication checks. As I described in my prior post, the launch rehearsal process is a necessary part of managing the risks associated with the complex task of “successfully” sending a projectile through the earth’s atmosphere into space and “successfully” delivering our customers spacecraft into its intended orbit.  The launch rehearsal process allows us to practice those items that we have control of because once the main engine ignites and the clamps holding the one million pound Zenit 3SL rocket down to the launch pad release we have no more control, it is just between the environment and the machine from there on. 

Rehearsal #2 is where a number of simulated anomalies are introduced at various times throughout the 3+ hour rehearsal to test the skills of the entire launch team on their ability to effectively and efficiently resolve the problem and continue with the countdown.  No member of the launch team is exempt from the process including the Mission Director (MD).  Today’s rehearsal included approximately 8 simulated anomalies that required multiple functions/teams to resolve and work through. There are situations where an issue can be isolated to one function or team but in most instances it requires an integrated team approach  to resolve.  Teamwork along with open communication are key to successfully completing any aspect of the launch process from prelaunch planning through post launch reporting.  No one function/team can do it all.

Today the team performed flawlessly in dealing with the complex anomalies presented during the rehearsal.  There were no issues and the rehearsal completed around 1130.  The teams then prepared for individual team rehearsal debrief meetings to be held in the afternoon.  An integrated team debrief meeting will be held the following day.

From a social perspective, the teams are settled in and many have their routines in place which include daily workouts in the gym and movies in the cinema as well as social gatherings in the ACS bar .  Yes there is a bar onboard however as you can imagine there are strict guidelines relative to its operation.  For instance the bar is never open the night prior to a rehearsal or anytime once we are at the launch site.  It is primarily open only during transit to and from the launch site under the watchful eye of the Captain and Mission Director so as to not interfere with required operations. More to come on these later…