Hyperbola was taken to the Soyuz launch site at France's Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana on 9 December and this 30min 51s video basically spans the entire time we were there. With a French speaking tour guide (all translations welcome) we got to see the entire site and you will see the beginnning of the mobile gantry that is yet to be fully assembled
Si vous comprenez le commentaire français, alors n'oubliez pas de régler le volume sonore le plus haut possible car je n'étais pas toujours à proximité de la guide touristique
on December 11, 2009 6:47 PM | Reply
Roscosmos made a lot more progress than NASA in less time. Amazing what the highly educated voter base in Russia can accomplish compared to the almost illiterate voter base in certain other countries.
on December 13, 2009 1:08 AM | Reply
Robbie, I recommend that you make a new edited version of this when you get home.
Remove (most of) the 'bus sequences and any other bits that look like they are taken by a tourist.
Then put in your own commentary. It is worth-while explaining why the French need a mobile gantry when the Russians have done without for 50 years.
on December 13, 2009 1:51 PM | Reply
The point of the video is to give the viewer the feeling that they are also there. It looks like its taken by a tourist because that is what it was like. There was no opportunity to make a tv style professional job, we weren't there for that. And you'll never get that with a Flip video camera the size of a mobile phone. Its all on the job learning in this age of austerity so maybe for the next video I'll work out what to do with the audio. The mobile gantry is a tower that encloses the rocket to protect it from the Guianan weather.