2-4 December 2021

Busy day, yesterday.  We tore down the camera site and fit it all back into five crates.  Those crates were hauled down the mountain in the back of the beltwagon and then loaded into two pickup trucks for delivery to Pole Position Logistics.  They will ship them back to the launch range to be incorporated into the return NASA shipment.  

Hoping to get one of our team members back from Ny-Ålesund today but the weather is pretty sketchy so it's a big maybe.  The next flight would not be until Monday, so many fingers are crossed.  We are certainly hoping he can be here for the launch party planned for tonight.  

No flight from Ny-Ålesund on Friday.  Maybe late on Sunday but probably not until Monday.  The temperature has risen to above freezing and the plane doesn't have the ability to de-ice.  It's very slippery, too, when the temperature rises.  There was reported to be strong wind and sideways snow, on Friday.  So, only two of us will leave the island on Sunday to begin the journey home.

Last night we had a nice dinner at Kroa with a few of the KHO staff who were assisting us.  It was unfortunate that the UNIS Christmas party was the same night, so many could not attend.

Windy and snowy, this morning.  Took a walk into town and enjoyed the sights.  Very warm - no long underwear needed!

1 December 2021

We launched!!  

Lots of great aurora, while we waited.  Almost no wind, clear sky, not bitterly cold.  The trifecta.

Then we launched.  After a trawler in the impact zone and after a tanker started to cross the impact zone.  Time was short but we pulled it off.

Now we pack it all back up and ship it home.  Reservations to change, launch party to plan, ready to lose the long underwear.  Home early for Christmas :)

On the way to dinner, tonight, the aurora just kept going.

30 November 2021

This is why we are here:

 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/science-at-the-cusp-nasa-rocket-to-study-mysterious-area-above-the-north-pole

Today, we head back up the mountain for the final practice.  We'll get everything ready to go, establish communications, there will be a practice count at the range, and we will all determine that we are ready to go tomorrow when the launch window opens.  Since tomorrow looks to be the clearest skies for awhile, fingers crossed.  

A very productive practice.  Several issues resolved.  Everyone is ready for a launch tomorrow.  Of course winds are predicted for the launch site.  

Some pretty aurora today.

The moon is still up a little too much.

27-28-29 November 2021

 A pretty windy and snowy Saturday.  Despite that, up toward the grocery store there were a couple speakers set up on the walk path blaring Christmas music, with people dancing around.  

Sunday is cold, dark and very windy.  Should be interesting up on the mountain.... and it was.  Safely back down and looking forward to a good dinner.  Monday is another day off and then a practice day on Tuesday, the day before the launch window opens on December 1.  When I was here in 2014, we launched on the first day of the window.  You never know, it could happen again!

Monday weather is about the same.  Cold, dark, windy.  There seems to be a theme...  They lit the Christmas tree on Sunday and it looks very festive in town.

26 November 2021

Changing of the guard, today, with one person heading to Ny-Ålesund and one returning from Ny-Ålesund.  We are taking the day off to be able to do airport runs.  Really pretty plane that makes the trip.

When you arrive to the airport, you know exactly where you are in the world.

Founded and owned by Kings Bay AS, Ny-Ålesund was originally established as a mining community in 1916.  Coal was extracted from 1916 to 1929 and a fishing station and a hotel were established between 1930 and 1940.  During WWII, everyone on Svalbard was evacuated.  Coal mining operations started again straight after the war, but were hindered by a series of major accidents.  Mining operations ended in 1963 after a major accident on November 5, 1962, where 21 people died.  Since the 1960s, research has been the main activity.

Ny-Ålesund has been the starting point for many famous polar expeditions, including Roald Amundsen's and Umberto Nobile's journey to the North Pole.  The "Amundsen mast" is one of the many cultural heritage remains that can be observed, alongside Svalbard's largest concentration of protected buildings.

With wind gusts expected to be up to 30 mph on Saturday, we've decided to hunker down for the day and head back up on Sunday.  We have a practice count on Tuesday morning so loose ends to finish up and we'll be ready.

With the wind today, it's feeling like -20 so I can't imagine what it will feel like in gale force winds.  Nippy, for sure.  Very grateful for my toasty new parka.

25 November 2021

 Happy Thanksgiving from Longyearbyen!  Fish and chips will probably be the dinner of choice.  

We had another good day up on the mountain.  All the Ethernet and power cables were installed and tested.  Not too windy, today, so it only feels like -10 or so.  Off come the long underwear!  The road up the mountain is good enough to drive all the way in the truck.  That really saves time.

Some pictures of the deck we are set up on.  

The "control room":

The view toward Longyearbyen

Thanksgiving dinner at Barentz Pub.  Shepherds Pie was delicious.

24 November 2021

Busy day on the mountain, today.  Set up the tripods and ran the cables out.  Our trip up was in the BeltWagon.

We're set up on a long deck, so it can get pretty windy.  

Today was very clear with lots of stars and occasional aurora.  

This picture is from the University and you can see why reflective vests are so important.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  No family with us and no turkey.  Not the first time.  As long as we're home by Christmas!!

23 November 2021

I'm here as part of the camera support for the Cusp Region EXperiment 2A (C-REX-2A), a NASA sounding rocket mission that will release 20 tracer clouds into the ionosphere above the Greenland Sea.  The launch window is 01-16 December.  We have a camera site here at the Kjell Henricksen Observatory (KHO) and there will be another at Ny-Ålesund, a center for international arctic scientific research and environmental monitoring.  The third camera site will be aboard a NASA Gulfstream jet that has been reconfigured for cameras instead of people.

Yesterday was a productive day at the camera site.  We checked all the settings on our laptops and cameras and assembled the camera box shelves.  Because of the cold, our cameras are housed on shelves in heated boxes.  A few hiccups along the way (we tripped the breaker twice) but overall it went extremely well.  We were not allowed to go outside, since there was no one there to protect us from potential polar bears, so were unable to set up our tripods and run cables.  Our final team member arrives today and we will begin the outside work on Wednesday.  Our first course of action is to climb up onto the deck to shovel it off.  At this point, there is a drift against the door that prevents us from pushing it open.  

The road to the observatory is still clear enough that we were able to drive all the way up, yesterday.  The day before, we used the Hagglund Beltwagon, a tracked vehicle with a personnel carrier attached.  

Yay!  "Black Week" here, so I was able to buy a parka for 15% off.  

21 November 2021

Sunday.  Not much planned.  Hoping to purchase a new parka.  I've had mine for many years and have noticed that the down just isn't doing as well this year.  So, a new puffy coat for me if I can find one small enough.

At least my feet are warm.  Not as cute as the fox socks but at least they have snowflakes on them.

Daytime Aurora!!!  This was taken around 2:45 in the afternoon.

And later, on the way to dinner.

Woke up around 2 am and checked the all-sky image Svalbard aurora-live-camera so put a layer over my pajamas and went outside.

20 November 2021

 A day off.  Here are a few pictures from the walk around town.  

SVALBAR.  A favorite dinner place.

Loved the colors around the moon.

Went to dinner at Kroa.  Saw these reindeer on the way to the restaurant.

Kroa