Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Day 85, 8/21/2012 -- EBEX, now with 100% less BTS!

Today we ticked a few of the miscellaneous items off our pre-disassembly to-do list. Jeff and Kyle tested some HWP system commands, Shaul and I did measurements of our mirror positions at different elevation angles, and Kevin and Kate took more detector noise data. Kyle also started setting up the SIP simulator, which we will use once CSBF removes the SIP from the gondola for thermal vac testing.

On the disassembly front, we started removing some more of the major sub-assemblies of the experiment. I forgot to mention that yesterday we removed the radiator panels for our detector electronics liquid cooling system. Today, we removed the Baffle/Triangle Support (BTS), the tubular frame that surrounds the whole experiment and provides a structure which we will cover with aluminized mylar in Antarctica. Once the antennae from the top of the BTS are disconnected and removed by CSBF, we can disassemble the BTS and start packing our large shipping container.

On a slightly different note, I was able to fix the BLAST group's helium leak checker with help from a gentleman at Laco Technologies -- we were video chatting via Skype and he was able to diagnose the problem immediately, within seconds of the leak checker turning on. He guided me through the repair process and a half hour later we had a working leak checker. Good thing too, because otherwise we would have had to rent one at considerable expense.

Pictures from today:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104253244018605213307/EBEXInPalestine20120821

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