Transit Day 20-Almost Home

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 1^st and 2^nd 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
• 1^st Engineer, Johan Txolix
• 3^rd Engineer, Eugenio Razodon
• 3^rd 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!