Transport to Final Launcher Assembly Building
18 October 2005
Tuesday, 18 October 2005, the upper composite was prepared by the Russian launcher team for the transfer from the current integration building MIK-112 to the final launcher assembly building MIK-40.At 17:30 local time (11:30 UTC), the upper composite was on the train, awaiting the connection of the external air conditioning system to the payload fairing which is used to guarantee the spacecraft is under proper cleanliness and temperature conditions during the transport.
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Upper composite, containing the Venus Express spacecraft, on the transport train for transport to the final launcher assembly building |
The distance between the two sites is approximately 40 kilometres and the journey will take around 5 hours, due to the fact that the train with its precious freight has to observe a very stringent speed limit. The train is planned to depart from the MIK-112 at around 21:00 and arrive at the MIK-40 in the middle of the night, local time.
