SRON_Spectrum_2016

uilt in a year before I was even born. It took
this monster on skis eight hours to make the
flight, and it sounded and felt as if somebody
had attached a petrol-driven lawnmower to
my back. But it flew and in the right direction.
After landing in Christchurch I was really
struck by the colors and smells after five
weeks on Antarctica: it was an attack on my
senses. Because snow and ice have no smells.
And there is life, an awful lot of life: plants,
insects, and birds of course but also people,
especially strange faces: five weeks is clearly
left Christchurch. On the Thursday morning of
17 December I was back again in the Netherlands,
exactly 2 months after I had left. Train,
taxi, and at last home again. Embraced my
So I will not experience
the launch and I will even
miss the hanging test
wife and son, with our dog barking that he
wanted to join in too. I also quickly picked up
my daughter from school. Everything was
back to normal again.
team, which may launch first. Then it is our
turn.
The circulation pattern at 40 km altitude has
now developed at the right location. On the
ground the weather is less favorable, as the
wind is a bit too strong to launch safely.
GRIPS has already made three attempts. Time
is now starting to run out: to be able to make
a complete circle around the South Pole with
a reasonable degree of certainty the flight
must start by mid-January. However now
things are in the hands of the weather gods.
27
SRON Spectrum
enough to recognize and/or know a community
of 1000 faces.
I also acquired a completely new appreciation
for comfort in the hotel room and a wellfunctioning
Internet: click and it works, no
more: click - coffee - check - more coffee -
half a page. What a pleasure.
The rest of the journey back seemed to take
ages. Especially Tuesday, which I experienced
twice due to crossing the International Date
Line: I arrived earlier in Los Angeles than I had
We are now two weeks further and it is the
start of January. On Antarctica Darren Hayton
and the rest of team have worked really hard.
It is strange that I can now only follow them
via email. The entire gondola works well and
the last big hurdle, the hanging test, was
successfully passed. During this test the
gondola is hung outside and then it must be
able to carry out all of the intended functions
entirely autonomously. During the flight readiness
review, the formal approval also came:
we are allowed to fly! Now it is a case of
waiting for good weather, first for the GRIPS
And they are unpredictable: after a recordbreaking
warm December my first workday
after my Antarctic adventure starts with a
white world in the Netherlands.
That takes a bit of getting used to…
WOUTER LAAUWEN
(summarized and edited
by Frans Stravers)