(C21) MSG-4 transfered to fuelling facility

Friday 05/06 was indeed a busy day. A series of activities took place in the S1B higher bay in order to transfer MSG-4 to the fueling facility (S5B) at the end of the same day. 

First, the spacecraft was moved from its usual stand to be mated on its flight adaptor (see C19). This activity permitted to perform a fit check to validate the mechanical compatibility which was completed by the mounting of the clamp band to fix the spacecraft on its adaptor All these mechanical operations require highly skilled personnel as any mistake (mishandling) may have severe consequences.

MSG-4 few seconds before mating on the PAS 16666 adaptor (ThalesAleniaSpace and ArianeSpace teams)

Then, the spacecraft was moved the the CCU-2 (Payload Container). As explained in C20, this equipment is designed to allow the transfer of spacecrafts between the various CSG facilities. 

MSG-4 just before its mating into to CCU-2 by the ThalesAleniaSpace team

When the two shells are close, the CCU-2 was loaded on a truck in order to perform the transfer by road. The departure from S1B started around 19:20 local time. A special convoy was organized and, as usual for this kind of activities, the "route de l'Espace" through the CSG was closed to the "normal" traffic.

Exit of the CCU2 loaded with MSG-4 from the S1B airlock

The maximum speed of the truck is fixed at 8km/h to prevent any damage to the spacecraft. The 4,6kms trip took about 45 minutes from gate to gate and the CCU-2 was in front of the S5B airlock at 20:05 (local time). Heavy rain was encountered en route with few far lightnings with no impact on the  transport.

MSG-4 transfer convoy arriving at the EPCU S5 gate

At 23:20 (local time), after a very careful cleaning and drying of the shells, the CCU-2 was finally open in the S5B facility. A long day for those who started at 6:30 and this morning. Great Job!

MSG-4 on the CCU-2 adaptor just after the opening of the shells

MSG-4 is now ready for a new phase of the launch campaign: the fuelling.