Start of drilling the first hole of the season (63) is expected early next week. There were two drill readiness reviews today (Saturday, Dec. 1) to accommodate all three shifts of drillers. Although the start will be a few days behind the nominal schedule of Dec. 1, the drill teams feel confident they are ready to begin.
There are 50 IceCube personnel on station as planned. The AMANDA team has left the station. Of the ∼291,000 lbs of IceCube repair or upgrade cargo scheduled for delivery to Pole week ending Nov 24, 2007 we had ∼289,000 lbs delivered. We have 6 Surface to DOM Cables on site. The snow ramp has been constructed at the ICL to facilitate loading equipment onto the first deck and the DAQ Components have been delivered.
The first group of distinguished visitors (DVs) was at the South Pole on November 28. The group of five members of the National Science Board escorted by Michael Van Woert, executive officer of Polar Programs visited the ICL and then the drill camp in the afternoon. The real-time event display turned out to be a focal point of the visit and a very helpful aid in explaining IceCube.This week, IceCube participated in a Multiple Casualty Drill with RPSC. The drill featured two different accidents with injuries at two distinct IceCube sites, the ICL and remote Hole #76. The drill tested both the IceCube emergency response at the scene, along with the RPSC Rescue team's response. Overall, the drill went very well. Rescuers were at both sites within five minutes of the emergency call to COMMs. That includes a slight detour, as the rescuers originally went to hole #75 instead of #76. They were quickly waved over by the IceCubers at Hole #76. The DCC was quick to provide resources and sleds. Both RPSC, as well as IceCube were favorably impressed by the drill.
We started the peer safety audits this week. These audits are performed by trained IceCubers who contact the Supervisor of an IceCube work area to set up an audit time. They begin by observing the area to learn the logistics and the process going on. They are not looking for safety problems; but, they ask the respective workers about what they do; and, whether they have any safety concerns. The idea here is to remind people about working safely and to keep their heads in the game. This week we audited the work going on in MHP3 during the first shift at the Drill Camp. We also audited TOS1 during the Second Shift. In both cases, there were no significant safety issues. Both individuals were proficient at what they were doing, and felt safe about their work environment.
Drilling was scheduled to start on Saturday Dec 1; however a few tasks remain to be completed before we are ready to drill. A readiness review meeting was held on Dec 1 to discuss the status of preparations for drilling. The consensus is that once the remaining drill setup and testing and repair tasks are completed, we should be ready to drill. No concerns were expressed regarding any safety or operational matters. People felt that the most likely date for when we will be ready for drilling is Tuesday, Dec 4.
By the end of the week, the drill system had been fully installed. All the heaters have had their safety systems checked out and adjusted. The last section of hose had been installed on the main hose reel, the hoses and reels have been bought inside the tower and water circulation had been established through all the system, including all the main and return hoses. The system has been pressure tested and the pressure bypass systems have been checked. The safety systems in the SES have been checked out. The firn drill is back in operation and is currently nearing completion of the firn hole at hole 71, the fourth hole of the season.
Some problems remain to be resolved. Some calibration remains to be done in the TOS, and final testing of the new computer system remains to be done with the hose and cable reels. Once these tasks are completed, and barring any more problems, we should be ready to start drilling by Tuesday, Dec 4.
The Deployment Team has spent the past few days preparing the hole 63 site for DOM installation. The DOM sled is in place behind the Tower along with the deployment weights, chains, clutches and shackles.
DOM (Digital Optical Module) testing has proceeded smoothly, with very few setbacks or failures. We have come to a lull in testing now, having 3 sleds full of DOMs for strings (63, 64, and 55) and 138 tested DOMs in the buffer. In addition, 56 DOMs have been supplied to IceTop, although there was a substitution of 2 Ts for 2 failed As. Testing will resume after the deployment of string 63. There are 416 untested, palletized DOMs on station, as well as 59 yet remaining in B2.
Surface junction boxes are in place and 32 DOMs are now installed in 16 tanks at the 8 stations of the first two trunks. The Freeze Control software has been loaded on the freeze computer in the ICL and is running. The new IceTop DOM hub has been installed.
Surface cables are scheduled to be pulled into the ICL on Monday. We depend on the cable installation in the ICL and IceTop DOM testing to make our first fill target of Dec. 5th.
The bulk of DAQ/IT cargo arrived this week. With the help of many hands the equipment was received at the ICL, and mostly moved to the second floor. IceTop hubs are installed and available. New UPSs, network switches, and most hubs are in the racks. Cabling will be installed over the next 2 weeks.