Rocket Man
And that is just what it is. It’s a rocket...man! Complete, fueled, on the rail car and getting ready to head out for the journey to Pad 39.
For the past few days, the AMC-14 spacecraft has been resting quite comfortably inside the space head unit (SHU) while mounted to the launch vehicle (LV). The completed assembly, the integrated launch vehicle (ILV), was then subjected to a few days of mechanical and electrical health checks with positive test results. After an internal meeting of our Khrunichev partners, the official go-ahead was given to fuel the Breeze M.
This is an exciting day as many folks gathered to watch the ILV being rolled to the Breeze M fueling station. The station looks like one massive carport out behind the 92A-50 complex. This is another one of the more hazardous operations that we perform during a campaign. Similar to the spacecraft fueling, the Breeze M is loaded with fuel and oxidizer over the course of two days.
The fueling operations were completed successfully and without incident. But no time to celebrate just yet, as immediately following the completion of the fueling operations, the official State Commission Meeting is held. This is quite a formal and very important meeting, because its outcome will determine if the ILV will be rolled to the pad for the final leg of its journey. It is with great pleasure to report from here that we are "go for rollout!" At exactly 06:30 local time, the train will pull out of the fueling station and head to Launch Pad Complex 39.
