The ops team has moved to the large 50 meter radiotelescope in the foothills near Stanford. They're hoping this large antenna will enable reliable contacts with Opal. The dish contacts were perfect and all picosatellites were fired from the dish.
 
 

The SSDL ops team sets up their equipment at the Big Dish. Yep, that's four laptops and a Sun work station sitting there on the desk. Gotta be a joke in there someplace.

There is nothing like a good manual. Jamie studies one while Greg and Lars in the background hook up equipment.

Jamie tries he's new found manual knowledge.

Yep, now it's Greg's turn to look at a manual. The SSDL ops team quickly became experts in ground station hardware.

Still studying the manual. Looks like it's the radio manual.

Gotta like laptops. They came in quite handy as we moved from station to station.

Lars adjusts the TNC in the background while Jamie commands the TNC from the laptop. They are setting the deviation of the TNC (or modem) to the proper bandwidth.

And Jamie wonders why his back hurts!

This is a view of the dish command console.

Jamie wonders what he should type next in the race to set up the station.

Jamie attempts to connect to Opal. Greg would be typing but he's no longer familar with the traditional keyboard (he uses the Dvorak keyboard now). He's actually sitting behind Jamie giving him pointers.

Yep, another view.

Lars on the left and John on the right ponder why the radio is malfunctioning. After awhile, they develop their precision percussion adjustment. They pick the radio up 3 inches off the table, and drop it. Yep, a little smack fixes the radio. The adjustment technique is still in use today has found application in a variety of different situations.

A closeup showing time and position.

A blur of activity surrounds the Opal ops team as they attempt to establish contact with Opal and fire picos.

Greg commands control of the radio frequencies. He did a great job in writing and rewriting code to automatically control the frequencies of the radio. His code was instrumental in obtaining contact with Opal.

Folks look on as communication occurs with Opal.

Lars and Jamie pour over the manuals again.

John, Lars, and Jamie working on equipment setup.

Jamie ponders TNC output on the laptop.

All anxiously await communication with Opal.

Jamie points out something to someone.

Once again, Greg offers commands while Jamie types them up.

Greg works on rewriting software to handle a new radio from Lars. Unfortunately, the new radio fails to work because of an integration issues between the radio and TNC.

Lars and Jamie work hard on the station.

Jamie continues to work on a laptop at the Big Dish.

Lars and Jamie work hard on the station.

Inspiration for Roudan XXX. John Ellis thinks hard about the equipment issues.

Jamie and Prof Twiggs watch as Greg works his wonders on the computer.

Steve XXX works on Aerospace pico ops.

Jamie and Prof Twiggs continue to watch as Greg works his wonders on the computer.

Greg programs while Jamie, Corina, and Bryan look on.

John and Lars tear XXX apart the radio looking for clues to the malfunction.

Jamie continues typing away.

All watch on as Greg types away.

John and Lars diagnoze the radio.

Greg checks the manual again and continues to program.

Jamie, Twiggs, Corina, and Bryan all gather around Greg as he attempts to talk to Opal.

Corina Hu waits at the dish for the next pass. The caffeine induced stare is almost upon her.

How many operators does it take to run Opal? Just one, Greg, and his trusty 50 meter dish!

Greg works his magic with Opal. What's up with the Canadian flag?!

Jamie logs into the SSDL ground station via the internet to monitor its performance during the pass. Long hours were spent fixing the station.

Jamie ponders his lack of sleep while Mike monitors the big dish.

Mike and Jamie share a laugh about something.