We use carbon tubes like tinkertoys. This means we’re always making carbon connectors and clamp. The other think we always find ourselves doing is sewing. The latest in the machine was slide panels and new parachutes. What are the tools of the next spaceage? A sew machine, carnuba release wax and a soldering iron…
Jacqueline sewing away.
Michael and Mark making one more clamp for Away 28.
Yesterday was an interesting day all around. The build session went very well. All the new modifications were install on the Tandem airship and testing has jumped into full swing.
We switched from foam to fabric fins for Away 34. We modified the design again to make them easier to deploy in the field. We started building fin sets for the next three vehicles.
It was also replication day. solder was flowing as the spare systems for Tandem were build. Spares are different from backups. Backup systems are things that fly with the main system. A spare is one to change out should there be a problem before flight.
Sewing continued on the new parachute and the helium flow meter was fixed, Yea!
Last night I attended a performance by our new music sponsor. It was incredible. We’ll be making an announcement as we get the details together. I stopped by the shop on my way home and that’s when things got exciting.
A pair of rapid series of gun shots banged out followed by shouts, screams and squealing car tires. I looked out the window and could see a huge crowd running around outside the sports center across the street. I went outside (I know, not very smart), and called 911. Another round of gun shots started. At this point I ran behind my truck. I couldn’t see who was shooting although I though I saw flashes. Police cars started rolling in. After a few minutes it looked like a used car dealership of police cars. There was still maybe thirty people still at the scene, not including the police. I watched for another half hour. No ambulance so I don’t think anyone was hit. There was around 20 shots in all. I can’t find anything about it in the news so far this morning.
Time to head back in, check for holes in the building and start sewing on parachutes.
The new frame for Away 28 is just about complete. The team assembled the new drum mount and installed it last night. The next step will be assembling the new drum.
Original Away 28
Away 28 Reimagined
All kinds of work has been happening over quite a few vehicles.
Here’s what has been going on in the last week:
The Tuesday night crew has been knocking out carbon clamps for Away 28. They also replaced the carbon vertical poles.
Mark and Drew laying carbon
On Saturday we were cutting and sewing ten by twenty foot fabric panels. These will set inside the balloon bag under the balloon during launch. It allows us to adjust the position of the balloon. Both sewing machines were flying as the parts were hemmed, joined, (pulled apart again) and rejoined. After this post I’m going to sew handles on the corners and it will be done.
The sensor cables on the tandem were too long. Off they came. They got trimmed, new connectors put on and remounted on the airship.
A wire running near the parachute cannon on Tandem was giving us trouble. There is a eight watt transmitter nearby and the wire was picking up noise. We tried filtering it out, but it was still a problem. We replaced the wire with coax. It’s a bit heavy but, it should do the trick.
We continued testing on the airship’s main controller. One glitch found and fixed.
Heavy duty construction was happening on the crew module mock up. The aluminum bracing for the crew couches was completed.
We completed the frames for Away 35, 36 and 37. They just look like skeletons without there decks and gear. Like a Christmas tree before you decorate it.
And last we started pulling the parts together for the Light Nose Cone project.
I read the comment recently about the silence of space.
I think this idea started with the line from the movie Aliens,
“In space, no one can hear you scream”.
This is an odd notion. Space is completely filled with pulses,
beats, tones across the entire spectrum. Even gravity has
waves to it. Jupiter acts like four million heavy metal bands
are trapped inside.
It’s as if we’re in a symphony hall and Beethoven is thunder
around us shaking the shingles off the roof and we think to
ourselves, “why is it so quite in here?”
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