Breaking news

A press article dated Saturday June 2nd, reports a possible Solar Array deployment issue on a telecom satellite launched on 31/05/2012. This spacecraft is manufactured by the same company as the MSG-3 co-passenger for the next Ariane 5 flight.

Click here to get the full article.

Updates

• 5/6/2102: It is confirmed that the on-going failure investigations will impact the MSG-3 launch campaign schedule.
• 6/6/2012: MSG-3 keeps in stand-by till fuelling date of MSG-3 co-passenger is confirmed. 
• 7/6/2012: a new press article provides some additional information on the failure investigation. 
• 8/6/2012: Good news; green light has been given to fuel. Exact date to break stand-by has now to be determined in an overall updated schedule.

Few local houses

Habitat is a fascinating topic. The genius of all human communities from nomadism to neolithic has always been reflected in habitat concepts. Yurts, igloos and later large urban areas showed continuous human inventions to adapt to various harsh conditions in order to develop family, social and economical links.
Housing in French Guyana is interesting to observe as it combines different factors like hot/humid climate, wooden materials, indigenous cultures, remains of the colonial times and requirements of modern life.
The (very) few pictures below during give a flavor of what can be see when traveling across the (accessible) parts of this country.

Behind the walls

The penal colony has been active in French Guyana over one century (1852-1953). One of the most important vestige of this punishment system can still be seen in Saint Laurent du Maroni, a city set along the Maroni river.  Convicted (but also innocent) people where transported from France up to the "camp de transportation" in this penitentiary township before being distributed in the different forced labour camps all over French Guyana. Working conditions were devastating and mortality extremely high.
This enterprise, despite the promising words* of Louis Napoleon on 22/11/1850 (two years and a half after the Abolitionism was voted by the interim government of the 2nd Republic**) proved to be a total disaster!
Later, thanks to the efforts of Albert Londres, and other less known people, the barbarity of such a system became openly known. Eventually, after the 2nd world war, France was condemned by the United Nation and dropped the penal colony.


*"Six thousand condemned men in our prisons weigh heavily on our budget, becoming increasingly depraved and constantly menacing our society. I think it is possible to make the sentence of forced labour more effective, more moralising, less expensive and more humane by using it to further the progress of French colonisation."
** Decree dated 27th April 1848

Waiting for the Robert E. Lee

Short news from the front line:
Our "baby" sleeps quietly in the clean room, nicely attended by the reduced team which staid at CSG.  MICE keeps on blowing cooled air on the two batteries that are periodically recharged. Nothing exciting but everything goes fine so far.

During this phase of the campaign, MSG-3 may, according to purists, be in sleep mode, or, for some others, just in "stand by". For sure, all parties agree that the term "hibernation" is inappropriate, this mode being incompatible with the usual Guyanese heat. What ever this phase is called, a break, a pause, an interruption, a rest ... we are definitely in baby sitting mode.
In other words, MSG-3 takes a short nap before starting, pretty soon, its 24 hours/day mission for the next 7 years (and very likely even more).

Most important thing now is to get a credible and agreed launch date. We all are waiting for it as, in good old days, others were Waiting for the Robert E. Lee...This 1912 ragtime composed by Lewis F. Muir (some other versions included lyrics), reminds the famous steamboat named the Robert E. Lee transporting cotton bales along the Mississippi river. Whatever the fate of this ship was, the musical piece became quiet famous and will certainly entertain our "baby" (and most of us) during this "transient" phase... let's call it this way:-)
Keep you posted.

K. B.

From BIL to BAF

Today 30/05/12 a significant event took place: The transfer of the Ariane 5 ECA from BIL (Batiment d'Integration Lanceur/ Launcher Assembly Building) to BAF (Batiment d'Assemblage Final/Final Assembly Building). This launcher transfer is a pure Arianespace activity.
On the wide angle overview below, you see the stage: BIL on the right and BAF on the left.

Between these two facilities, one dedicated to launcher integration and the other to assemble the payload(s) on the rocket, you may witness the shortest rail trip in French Guyana (ca one kilometer TBC). There is, if we are correct, no other commissioned rail tracks in this country.
The departure from BIL took place at ca 12:15 Kourou Time.

At that stage the rocket is mounted with the two solid boosters (EAP) filled with propellant. The central tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen once on the launch pad (ELA-3). For safety reasons, the speed is kept extremely slow in particular in the curve or on the railroad switches (below 5km/h TBC).

On the picture below, a closer view on the Ariane 5 ECA rocket (to be used for the next VA207 flight). The rocket stands  on the launch table rolling on the straight "high speed" section of the journey.

As showed below, the convoy is not made only of the launch table and the rocket. Few cars on the front provide all what the launcher needs for the transport: Traction, Energy, Air conditioning...

Another perspective of the rocket en route from BIL to BAF taken form CDL-3 (Centre De Lancement 3).

Approaching the BAF...

It is ca 14:00 (Kourou Time), after 45 minutes across the CSG the "Kourou Express" reached the BAF  its final destination, the master station can go for lunch :-)

As you have certainly noticed, the launcher is still missing an essential part: the upper composite made of the payload covered by the fairing. In ca 30 minutes the curtain of this high tower will fall. A rather confidential play will then carry on inside the BAF with a limited number of  people. The theater curtain will open again one day before launch for the roll out to ELA-3.
Stay with us, we'll be there. Even if at the moment we don't have a launch date yet, MSG-3 has a launcher!

Border line

Saint Laurent du Maroni (French Guiana) is just opposite to Albina (Suriname), both cities being just separated by the Maroni river.
Here under is the nice view on Albina as seen from Saint Laurent du Maroni. Tourists may afford a day excursion in Albina showing an identity document at the border control. For implementing this plan you may just have to cross  the river.

In such a case, the first common sense idea is to go the to official harbour and board the local ferry commuting between the two cities. As you can see below, it is never extremely crowded. This place is only populated by the custom control policeman accommodated  in little hut on the right hand side. Once the control is done, the "Gabrielle", the name of this ferry, is just waiting for you, ready to go...

After a while, you will realise that the speed of the ferry being 0 km/h, the time needed to reach Albina will not be compatible with your initial plans and then you do have to implement the plan B. For this, move first to the (much more dynamic) local pirogue harbour,

where a crowd of hectic "taxi" drivers is waiting for you on the street. Negotiating a single or a return ticket is a piece of cake and few seconds later you are on your way. Forget the passport control.

This process looks so easy that the idea that those two countries have signed up for the Shengen Agreement may cross your mind during the four minute trip. Considering the number of pirogues in both directions you will also realise during the river crossing how intense is the traffic between French Guiana and Suriname...

When you return to Saint Laurent from Suriname by the same type of transportation, you may ask the pirogue driver to drop you at the "official harbour" for personal convenience: a nice opportunity to check if the situation has changed from what you experienced earlier in the day: indeed, the place looks as desert as in the morning. Only the custom control staff may have left (?)

Anyway, it is nice to feel safe and back to France!  After such an experience, you may want to have a drink or a snack. Saint-Laurent du Maroni is not a very large city but you may easily find a nice café or a small restaurant around. There is one in particular where you will notice something peculiar: a stack of caps...

showing evidence that in Saint Laurent du Maroni, custom controllers are getting depressed or have definitely decided to change job :-)

K.B.

P.S.: The situation with Brasil, on the other side of the country is not better despite a brand new bridge (Pont sur l'Oyapock, Oyapock river bridge) has been built between Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock (French Guiana)  and Oiapoque (Brasil). The infrastructure of the bridge is completed since August 2011 but still missing... the  border control personnel on both sides to be fully operational. The commissioning of the bridge in planned for January 2013 (...just the time needed to re-train, re-motivate and re-locate the personnel from Saint Laurent? ).