BARREL Daily Update Dec. 23rd

Each day we're getting closer to our first possible launch date! Our flight readiness review was this morning and I'm assuming that no news is good news. The ground weather is a bit bad though so we are not expecting a flight today or tomorrow. The SANAE team is also now at the base and getting everything set up. We will not be launching on Christmas, so the most likely first flight, for both stations of course depending on ground weather conditions, will be December 26th. 

The Sun is starting to crackle with a couple of multiple M class flares from a sunspot that is getting close to being geo-effective. The coronal hole in the Northern Hemisphere is now expected to become potentially geo-effective on Dec. 26th - Dec 27th. Our first possibly busts collection for EFW on the Van Allen Probes will start on the 26th when they fly over the Halley and SANAE stations.


Ground Weather:
SANAE IV: 
Temp.: -4.9 C
Wind speed: 6 knots 

Halley 6: 
Temp.: -5.9 C
Wind speed: 7 knots 


Payloads up: Our first possible launch date is late on the day of Dec. 26 th. 
SANAE IV: none  
Halley 6:  none. 

Payloads coming down:
none 

Recent possible events: 
none.

Halley Bay :
quiet with some weak ULF activity. 

GOES Electron Flux:
Have continued to be at normal to moderate levels and are expected to be the same for the next three days. 

GOES Proton Flux:
Has stayed at background levels for the lat 24 hours and is expected to increase slightly over the next three days. 

Space Weather from Spaceweather.com and SWPC.noaa.gov 
Solar wind speed: 317.3 km/s 
Solar proton density: 1. cm^(-3)  

Sun spot number: 111  
NOAA has the likelihood of a M class flare at 60% and a 10% chance of an X class flare.  

Kp is quiet 
kp = 0 with a 24 max of kp = 1

Bz = 0.3 nT south 
Btotal = 2.8 nT  

There is a Coronal hole in the northern hemisphere which could possible hit Earth on Dec. 26th - 27th.

From Kyoto:
AE: very quiet.  

Dst: very quiet.   

Have a good day!