Friday, 10th of October
The launch campaign is running smoothly and we are moving forward to a new phase!
After the last steps of integration in the payload preparation facility, our spacecraft’s home since it arrived to French Guiana, the spacecraft was transferred to the hazardous preparation facility where the fuelling activities will be carried out.
Last Activities in the Payload Preparation Facility
Last week the industrial team performed the last steps of activities planned in the payload preparation facility. These included the installation of sun shields onto the Automatic Identification System (AIS) antennas, the integration of Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) onto the X-band antennas and the finalisation of MLI in other parts of the spacecraft. Last bits of MLI fixing will be done right before encapsulation inside the launcher vehicle fairing.
We also performed a cleaning inspection to make sure that all contamination-sensitive equipment were fit for flight and a final inspection (mandatory inspection point) before moving the spacecraft.
In parallel, the propulsion team was working hard preparing everything for the fuelling of the spacecraft.
Transfer to the Hazardous Preparation Facility
On Friday 10th of October the spacecraft was transferred from the payload preparation facility to the hazardous preparation facility. As the facilities are located in the same building, we could transfer the spacecraft easily through the corridors without having to transport it in a special container.
Sentinel-1D arrived safely at the hazardous preparation facility for fuelling.
Leave a Reply