A light dusting of snow blanketed the city of Moscow as the team kicked off our journey to Baikonur for the E9B launch campaign.  Luggage stowed, the team clambered aboard our bus and headed to Vnukovo Airport to catch our charter.

A short three hour and half flight later, a vastly different environment greeted the team.  Team members donned hats, coats, scarfs and gloves as we exited the plane to be welcomed by a cold blustery wind, grey overcast skies and a bleak landscape speckled with mud pools caused by numerous days of rain.  The bus ride to Area 95 was mercifully short and sweet.  The hotel lights beaming out across the Steppes of Kazakhstan, growing ever larger on the horizon provided a guiding light welcoming the weary travelers in from the cold to what will be our home for the duration of the E9B launch campaign.

After getting settled into our respective hotels, the team has hit the ground running and are making quick work of laying the foundation for our next major mission milestone – SC off-load.  Communication has been very transparent between the multicultural teams (French, Russian, American) ensuring that everyone has a comprehensive grasp  of our operations schedule in an effort to have a seamless, efficient and productive off-load and ultimately and industrious launch campaign.A light dusting of snow blanketed the city of Moscow as the team kicked off our journey to Baikonur for the E9B launch campaign.  Luggage stowed, the team clambered aboard our bus and headed to Vnukovo Airport to catch our charter.