Terminal Plunge: Early stages

That old ball of fire in the sky is beginning to show its lack of elevation above the horizon. Though we have several weeks of direct sunshine, followed by several weeks of twilight, the light is definitely changing as the sun approaches the horizon.

We continue to prepare for the winter, but it seems like the closing tasks are rapidly being knocked off the "to do" list for the station. Things have been pretty calm here, despite the long weekend for most folks. Last night I got introduced to the board game Carcassonne, which was quite enjoyable. Two of us playing for the first time had actually been there, which seemed a statistical anomaly.

"Have fun stormin' da castle."
~Miracle Max, "The Princess Bride"

(Almost) one week down

Winter has been going pretty well thus far. We still have plenty of sunlight, and the last few hours we’ve had plenty of wind. It isn’t anything too lousy, the visibility is reduced but you can still see things fairly far away, but I guess some (new) folks are concerned about it. Hopefully they’ll learn how far from bad weather this really is before too long.

“Busy” has been the word, with lots of winterizing of the station infrastructure going on. On Saturday a gang of dudes-including this dude-broke down and reeled in the flight line fuel apparatus and the big hose that stretched to the fuel arch. Hopefully this will be the last winter crew that has that cold job, since the line suspended under the station and buried on its way to the flight line will be brought online at long last next summer. Jamesways at Summer Camp have been cleaned and are being shut down and sealed for the winter. At some point soon the flag lines to ARO, the RF building, and the Dark Sector will be put in place. We had our first big house mouse (station cleaning) assignment yesterday, and will continue to do that in a rotation every Monday throughout the winter.

All in all, it has been pretty quiet here thus far. The pacific calm that is now the science lab is a tremendous relief after the persistent din this summer. With luck, and a little personal responsibility, this could be a pretty decent season.

"Social evolution is exasperatingly slow, isn't it, sweetheart?"
~"The Iron Heel" by Jack London

Station Closing, a different perspective: ARFF

So, as I briefly alluded to in the previous post, South Pole Station closed for winter on 15 February. The remaining 50 souls will be here for another 9 months, with (hopefully) no arrivals or departures until the station opens in October.




Since the departing passengers on the final flight included the Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting (ARFF) crew from this summer, the fire brigade stepped in to support the aircraft’s departure. I was one of the firefighters in the cab of Elephant Man, the tractor we drag the sleds with that hold the ARFF firefighting apparatus. It meant missing out on goodbyes at the flight line, but lent its own perspective on the scene.

We stayed on-station with the tractor until the plane had been off the deck for 10 minutes. Part of those 10 minutes included a couple fly-bys of the station. The camera I was using had no viewfinder, so seeing the LCD screen and actually being able to line up the shot proved not so easy. Below is the only picture I actually managed to snap with the LC-130 the least bit in the frame. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be able to get others’ photos if necessary. Actually, I found it amusing when I reviewed the photos afterward.

"The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy."
~John Galsworthy

Sorry, we're closed.

Will open in 9 months.

One more night

Nothing quite as romantic as that old Phil Collins song, but today is the last full day of summer at South Pole if all goes to schedule. The fire brigade is getting organized to provide outbound for the last LC-130 flight, which will carry away the final 36 (3 depart Tuesday) folks still here that are not in it for the long haul. The sun is getting lower every day, but it still seems pretty high in the sky. Even so, temperatures have cooled off some, but we do not seem to be as cold as years previous. I suppose that is not really surprising during a season that set an all-time high temperature record.

Berthing arrangements are being settled as people transition to their winter rooms and the A4 wing of the station is gradually cleared out so it can go not cold but cool for the winter to save on heating costs. I went from having Twin Otter pilots and visiting grantees as neighbors to having boxes of potatoes, apples and other fruits/veggies, since my winter room just opened up yesterday and I have not had a chance to start relocating.

Hopefully I’ll get some more pictures as we bid “adieu” to the summer folks tomorrow and start the shoulder season lead-up into the long night of winter 2012. With luck, by the time the sun has set and risen for me once again, I will have gotten The Call from NASA that they’re going to do like Dirty Harry and make my day selecting me for astronaut candidate.

“Please give me one more night, give me one more night,
One more night ‘cause I can’t wait forever.”
~Phil Collins

One more night

Nothing quite as romantic as that old Phil Collins song, but today is the last full day of summer at South Pole if all goes to schedule. The fire brigade is getting organized to provide outbound for the last LC-130 flight, which will carry away the final 39 folks still here that are not in it for the long haul. The sun is getting lower every day, but it still seems pretty high in the sky. Even so, temperatures have cooled off some, but we do not seem to be as cold as years previous. I suppose that is not really surprising during a season that set an all-time high temperature record.

Berthing arrangements are being settled as people transition to their winter rooms and the A4 wing of the station is gradually cleared out so it can go not cold but cool for the winter to save on heating costs. I went from having Twin Otter pilots and visiting grantees as neighbors to having boxes of potatoes, apples and other fruits/veggies, since my winter room just opened up yesterday and I have not had a chance to start relocating.

Hopefully I’ll get some more pictures as we bid “adieu” to the summer folks tomorrow and start the shoulder season lead-up into the long night of winter 2012. With luck, by the time the sun has set and risen for me once again, I will have gotten “The Call” from NASA that they’re going to do like Dirty Harry and make my day selecting me for astronaut candidate.

“Please give me one more night, give me one more night,
One more night ‘cause I can’t wait forever.”
~Phil Collins

Ch-ch-ch-changes

The population will rapidly decrease from its already-sub-200 level here at Pole in the next couple days. People leaving Pole are getting "straight throughs", which means they fly from Pole to McMurdo, just hang out at the airfield until the C-17 arrives, and hop on for the ride to Christchurch. This eliminates the stopover in McMurdo, which is still quite full due to the major delay in getting the tanker and cargo vessel there this year.

The light is changing and there is definitely more surface definition as the angle of the sun decreases. The temperatures haven't plunged yet, but it is definitely feeling more like twilight is around the corner. People keep asking if I'm ready for winter, and I just say I'll take it when it comes. There's little reason to agitate against the timeline of things here when it will have no effect whatsoever.

In the last week I've worked in the Communications (Comms) center practicing how to work with the flights inbound and outbound from Pole. We have to cover that at Pole, even for flights to/from Christchurch even after the Comms folks depart. It's a lot of listening and talking on various radios, as well as getting information about the various items of cargo that have to go and come on the planes.

Another extra bit of pseudo-voluntary tasking I have on my plate is starting afresh with new additions to the fire brigade. Hopefully that will go as smoothly as possible. The first step will be a turnover drill, which will be happening today, despite the fact we've had zero chance (though I made myself available) to work with the new folks to acquaint them with their gear.

"When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

Light, of a sudden, as tunnel’s end nears

Well, the season seems to be suddenly almost over here at Pole. Summer is fleeting, and winter crew members are flocking, while the temperatures start to flirt with moving in the colder direction. Station population is down in the 180s right now, but will probably swell a little bit as incoming folks overlap with outgoing to do turnover for winter. As far as I know we’re still looking at a crew of 51 for winter 2012 at South Pole. This also heralds the beginning of another training cycle for the fire brigade, as new members arrive with however little or much experience they may have.

Transition news is still pretty sparse on details, at least from my soon-to-be employer, Lockheed. Getting all the paperwork squared away prior to the now-March 31 turnover date (for all but the food services subcontractor, which will transition on April 1) will be a nice milestone to have passed. There are so many things that are TBD at this point that it is still a bit disconcerting, given how the trend of employee benefits seems to be sliding in the economic times of the last several years. But, it will be what it will be, and hopefully we’ll not have too many contract-driven issues to deal with in addition to the ones facing anybody spending a 9-month stint isolated at the South Pole in winter.

Another future employer of mine, thinking positive, just announced they had the second-highest-ever number of applications for their astronaut candidate positions. A total of 6,372 applications were received by NASA for what I’ve read will be 9-15 positions. If I pretend I’m into numerology, perhaps that the record number of applications was set in 1978 will prove auspicious. According to the NASA astronaut selection timeline, during March through July there will be the down-select for highly qualified candidates, references will be checked, and a lucky few will be asked to take an introductory medical exam. Despite the stiffer competition, compared to the last time I applied, I still feel good about my credentials. With engineering, spacecraft operations, real remote living experience (with no chance for a lifeboat/rescue during winter, unlike the ISS), and a healthy mind and body, I figure my chances are just as good as any of the other 6,371 potential future team members I will be measured against. The allure of the Right Stuff, for me, has never been because it would be a cake walk to be selected.

"Every crowd has a silver lining."
~P. T. Barnum