Saturday, December 17, 2011

My new gig

So I was selected to be the new DA(dining attendant) for the Long Duration Balloon facility run by NASA here just a few miles from McMurdo Station. I have only spent 2 days out there training so I don't have all the info and stats on it and only limited pictures but I am so excited to share the news about it.
Monday will be my first day out there post training and to add to the excitement there is the possibility of a launch! There are several projects going on here in our few buildings one of which is a large balloon with a payload of 7,800 lbs that will be looking at the particles that hit the Earth from Super Novas.
To watch it all happen check out the "real time video" on this site... http://www.csbf.nasa.gov/antarctica/ice.htm
I hope it works!
The window of opportunity that I was told about is from 11am-4pm on Monday here in Antarctica. So that would be Sunday from 5-10pm eastern time. This is subject to change due to weather conditions.
Some more info about the projects...
http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/41e.htm
http://icecube.wisc.edu/info/neutrinos

2 comments:

Sherpa Tom said...

Very cool. I love the three links, but the one on neutrinos is way beyond my level of knowledge of physics (and astrophysics). The history of the LDB program is fascinating. Can't wait to hear more about your experiences there. Are you working in the Jamesway tent used for the galley (in the picture on the stratocat website) that is on the right end of the row of buildings?

Megan said...

Yep! Exactly. I'll be there early tomorrow morning. Leaving here at 5:30am instead of 7:15am.