|
|
The day begins early-- 6:30 a.m. --with a
safety briefing. Participants are given a script of the day's
procedures, fueled with plenty of donuts and coffee, and sent out the door
with the words, "Take it slowly. Be safe." |
  |
 | The antenna is sitting on concrete piers inside the antenna assembly
building. The yellow crane in the roof has been moved forward so that
it can be used to remove the bearing after the antenna is separated.
The transporter is ready to move the antenna to the back of the
building where the dish will be separated from the pedestal. |
| The antenna weighs 230 tons. The transporter weighs 90 tons. We can't afford to make any mistakes, so each person on the team has a copy of the script that he follows very carefully. One person supervises the move. He wears a headset and tells the others when to move to the next step. Everyone wears some sort of hearing protection, but not everyone has verbal communication. Those who don't wear a headset use airhorns or whistles to call for an emergency stop in case some part of the antenna is about to bump into something it shouldn't. The clearances are very close and must be watched constantly. |
The team members get into position. |
 | 
Each person has a copy of the script. |
Modified on
Friday, 26-Sep-2008 12:09:36 MDT
|
National Radio
