We succeeded with all planned actions, including repairing the MASS tensiometer, that got loose during shaking, through a very small hole!

Also, the 15 meter harness for Baikonur was prepared and tested. MLI was prepared and fitchecked, mounting on battery pack, telemetry (with software update) and telecommands, functional tests were all ok. Packed for Baikonur where we will unpack, upload software and mount on Foton end of July.

Coming soon to a cinema near you ;)

 

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMYZR8OY2F_index_0.html

Michiel and Sasha, one of the SSAU-YES2 experiment students, after successful mounting of both experiments on the Foton hardware. SSAU-YES2 is a GPS plus datalogger inside the Foton capsule, and on the battery pack two radially mounted antennas and a combiner. The experiment, together with MASS GPS could provide relative position measurement and therefore much more precise evaluation of the tether deployment. Sasha built and tested also a 3-axis magnetometer  unit that was included in the GPS box.

The first days of YES2 work at the rocket factory of TsSKB progress can be considered succesful.

During evaluation of the functional test results it was noticed the flight stepper driver and motor consumed less power than the engineering model. This could mean either less torque of the motor or less losses in the stepper driver circuitry. In Samara, with a ingenious set-up the torque levels were directly compared and it can be concluded that the flight torque is nominal.

Remember the tether? Tether Florian, spool 55. 31.6 km of which 30 km to deploy in space in September. We are now off to Samara to make sure this unique event will succeed.

Monday and Tuesday (11 & 12 June), the YES2 people will travel to Samara for the incoming inspection and tests at the Rocket factory of TsSKB.  Ili, Marco, Fabio, Aage, Marco, Marcel, Jason and Michiel will go and perform all necessary steps and tests.

Good luck guys. 

Friday June 22nd at Le Bourget (close to little croissant home town): Presentation of ESA's Education activities with special emphasis on YES 2 (a student-built satellite to be launched in mid-September this year) and award ceremony for the "Students aerospace contest": some 50 university students in 11 teams all around Europe worked on the design of an orbital plane for one year. Initiative promoted by the Astronaut Club Européen (ACE) and sponsored by Dassault, Thales, Safran, GIFAS and the IAF.

If you have a nice picture of yourself and or with a YES2 group of people working on YES2 or testing. Please email me- it might become selected for YES2 the movie. Due Thursday night 31 May 2359.