Collaboration Across Cultures Global Astronomy: Collaboration Across Cultures
Sep 10, 2004

WOOHOO!! I'm finally on my spacecraft!

by XRS
Installing XRS on the Suzaku spacecraft
Getting into my place on the spacecraft

WOOHOO!! I'm finally on my spacecraft! They woke me up early this morning, because we all knew it would be a long and exciting day. My spacecraft had been sitting just down the hall for weeks now, and I was getting so impatient to hop on board. But today was the day.

They put me on first, and then they put on the frame for the telescopes. It's called an 'optical bench', but it doesn't look like a bench at all. It's the framework that will keep everything aligned, so that I can see all of the cool stuff from the telescopes when I'm up in space.

Soon they'll be adding the other instruments and telescopes and hardware. But for the moment, this is my ride. I've been waiting for this day for ages.

Installing the optical bench on Suzaku
Getting the optical bench ready for installation
Installing the optical bench on Suzaku
The optical bench installed on the spacecraft