After a leisurely and uneventful 5-hour train ride, the spacecraft and its support equipment made it safe and sound to Building 92A-50. And yes, as the song says, it is now time for “takin’ care of business,” that business being preparation of the SC and the rocket for final assembly together. Many warm and rested personnel were on hand to meet the SC, unpack the train cars and begin a week’s worth of what is commonly known as stand-alone testing. It is a busy time for everyone involved in the campaign as the three stages of the Proton booster have been delivered to Khrunichev.

Inside this massive 4-story facility, you can find the rocket team performing final mechanical and electrical testing. On the other side of the facility, the satellite folks are busy 24 hours a day performing similar electrical and mechanical testing operations. Tests include mechanical inspections, SC electrical power turn-on, propellant talk leak tests and communications testing between the SC and the ground station. You could almost say that the SC is undergoing a physical, as we call them health checks, to assure that everything is working properly after the long journey from Sunnyvale, Calif.

And we are all pleased to report at this time that at each day’s morning meeting, the Lockheed Martin doctors are reporting that the SC is quite healthy and things are on schedule.