This is a shot of us coming back from the balloon base on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Thankfully they didn't close the road until after we made it back, so I was able to get Thanksgiving dinner. There are two vans in this shot fyi.
This is looking into one of the instruments on the deck of the gondola. It is the heart of the experiment.
One laptop isn't enough for some people I guess.
Here you can see the other physics experiment, CREAM, doing their hang test.
ANITA outside of our hangar to practice a hook to hook transfer. The bottom antennas actually swing out after launch, and they are referred to as drop down antennas from here on out. The solar panels are also not on as they are extremely fragile which makes putting them on extra fun for me.
This is the freezer for the galley at the balloon base.
ANITA sitting out on a pad doing GPS testing and calibration. GPS is used to figure out the exact position and orientation of the payload as well as to provide extremely accurate timing.
ANITA during the hang test. The drop downs are retracted in this photo.
ANITA in all her glory with the drop downs deployed. The saucer like antennas at the top on the corners of the solar panels are the GPS antennas. The instrument on the deck on the left is the heart of ANITA. The battery box is on the far side, and NASA's instrument which monitors the flight and controls the ballast hopper, balloon valves, and other aspects is on the right. We passed the hang test, and ANITA weighed in at 5585 pounds including with one person on board and the temporary protective solar panel covers on.
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