Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
LATE August at Pole, the sky is really brightening, and we FINALLY have news on the contract rebid, the "downselect, " otherwise known as the "best and final offer" request!
August at Pole, the "darkest hour just before dawn?" Well, twilight is happening, the moon is up, and WINFLY is finally underway, the sky is lightening, and there is a bit of information on one Antarctic contract...sorry, no, not that one :( And elsewhere, we have fresh new photos of that iconic research vessel HERO...
Midwinters Day was celebrated with the big dinner on Friday, 18 June, and other festivities and films. Photos have been taken. This was followed up by the Fourth of July pig roast, and a bit later, the 48 hour film festival...
The 33rd Antarctic Treaty consultative meeting got underway in Uruguay on Monday 3 May, and ended on the 14th...and I never saw much news of what was talked about. But I have been updating my info on the NGA expeditions scheduled to visit next summer. Details!
Updates in the Antarctic support contract rebid process were supposed to be announced "soon" but that didn't happen by the end of March as promised. Or in April. Or May. Or June.My info page, updated with no news :(
The early winter was dark, and very cold. -100.7°F on 13 April! And we know what that brought on. It turns out that April 2010 was the coldest April recorded. Other news...all continues to be very quiet on the contract front...
Summer ended. At 0235 on 14 February, the last flight of the season departed. There was a spectacular flyover watched by many of the 47 winterovers who worked the flight or otherwise stayed up late.
The dome is gone. And the most comprehensive web collection of dome deconstruction photos is here!
12 November 2009 marked the 40th anniversary of the first time women set foot at the South Pole. This was marked by massive Antarctic Sun coverage as well as a group photo of women on station. Here.
Media alert...Bill Spindler was interviewed on in early November by a New York Times science reporter about the upcoming dome demolition...the article is still up although the dome is decidedly not.
Satellite update...TDRS-1 failed at the end of the 2009 winter, the last day of service was 21 October 2009. Other satellites were moved around...who knows what GOES around...(my satcom info page)
The message boards are still around...stop by the new home of Mike Poole's Antarctic Memories, which now includes the archives of Glenn Grant's Iceboard. If you have questions or problems with this excellent resource...the best place for info on jobs and life on the ice, ask me for help!
My second winter was in 2005 as the Title II Inspector (huh, what's that?)...and stayed on for a month after the 21 October station opening until the summer person showed up. I returned to the US on 21 January after 2 months in NZ/OZ. Hopefully before I left I wasn't too toasty to write a feature article for the 30 October 2005 Antarctic Sun..... Read it for yourself and decide...
More news updated 21 August.
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