Summer has most definitely arrived in Baikonur, with daytime temperatures being in the 90s for the last few days, and forecasted to stay that way for the rest of the campaign. We’ve all been working hard since the start of joint operations. With everything proceeding nominally for our 3 June launch date, most of team was able to celebrate the American Memorial Day and the rollout of the ILV to the Breeze M fueling station with a BBQ. Thanks to those who organized it – the tri-tip, tenderloin and pizza were all excellent!  During the Breeze M fueling days the halls are closed, so some of the teams were able to enjoy a trip to the market and a visit to Korkut Ata, a Kazakh mausoleum near the launch complex.

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After saying goodbye to most of the Eutelsat 3D team and congratulating them on a successful launch, we had a busy few days of spacecraft (SC) propellant loading. Everything is going well so far, and that means some days at the hotel or a chance to go to town for some of us who are not involved in operations at the processing facility. Now with the start of joint operations, the teams will work together in the final stretch of the campaign for the last preparations of the Integrated Launch Vehicle (ILV) for launch. We’ll celebrate SC fueling and the start of joint operations with a BBQ for the entire team this week!

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