This evening, the NCT balloon gondola and support equipment left in a 40′ container for a new campaign. It will travel by sea to Alice Springs, Australia, whose Southern Hemisphere location will allow us to observe the Galactic Center. We will follow by air–along with the NCT cryostat–next month.
The adventures and challenges of the eight short months since we returned from Ft. Sumner could fill an entirely new blog. For now, I’ll leave you with some pictures from the packing process. Look for updates from Oz in March…
Setting up the crates.
Alan considers the inventory.
It's important to have enough balloon tape.
Working under the hood.
Moving the cradle in and out of the gondola is always a team effort.
The "bug stamp" on our crates indicates that they are safe for export.
Getting closer.
Belinda, not everything gets packed for the container!
The gondola pallet.
Good packing.
Edgar runs the forklift.
Moving out.
The gondola pallet needed some extra balancing.
Loaded!
Leaving for the port.
Dispatches from the Field 
NICE!
Hi Eric,
Would like to learn more about this project for a possible interview on ABC Local Radio here in Alice Springs. ABC is the national public broadcaster – could you contact me by email and let me know how I can contact you? Cheers, Emma