Oleksandr Matsibura, the system administrator of the Akademik Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, traveled to the icy continent as part of the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition. This was the second time he had applied for this position, but the first time, in 2019, he was rejected due to a lack of experience in his field.
Oleksandr Matsibura, the system administrator of the Akademik Vernadsky Station in Antarctica, traveled to the icy continent as part of the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition. This was the second time he had applied for this position, but the first time, in 2019, he was rejected due to a lack of experience in his field.
«My main duty at the station is to ensure continuous data transmission from our scientists. After all, 90 percent of information is transmitted online. For example, meteorologists have an ozonometer in their team who works according to a daily schedule. Other meteorologists collect, generally speaking, data on weather, precipitation, clouds. There are a bunch of sensors outside the station. Every three hours, data needs to be collected from them. They are uploaded to the server, and accordingly, there are configured scripts according to which the information is supplied to the World Meteorological Service. This makes it possible to forecast and build various weather models,» the specialist explained in an interview with DOU.
According to him, as for the equipment, the fiberglass dome has Starlink and BGAN Inmarsat installed, and the dome itself protects the antennas from the effects of weather conditions.
Previously, communication with the outside world was supported by a Skanti SSB shortwave radio transceiver, which is now used by radio amateurs.
«The territory is well covered with WiFi, we also use it in chats between ourselves. There are no problems with convenience: the Internet speed allows you to watch live broadcasts of football matches, YouTube, Netflix, etc. All this is thanks to Starlink. If, depending on the weather, the satellite moves a little further away, the traffic drops until it switches to the next satellite. It is not very noticeable: the drop is 15-20 megabits. We also have a backup Inmarsat bgan, but its speed is terrible (and the price is appropriate). We have unlimited Internet, there are restrictions only on the guest network,» said Oleksandr Matsibura.
According to the specialist, the station must constantly take into account the factor of shortage of parts and equipment that cannot simply be taken and purchased.
«The main feature of working here is that if a problem arises, you can’t run to the store and buy parts. You have to use logic and ingenuity. You make do with what you have in the attic. For example, for the gym, you needed mini-jack 3.5 adapters. You had to figure out how to solder to another such „jack“. Or there is no specific cable with a wire to pull out specifically for external wiring — you make do with the usual one. RS cables can often be missing, but there is RS230 instead. Then you manually replace the foam with copper cables. If a spark plug breaks and there is no spare one, you have to come up with something from the old one,» he shared the details.
Matsibura added that, in accordance with his duties, he checks every morning for any malfunctions, but, as a rule, everything is working properly.
«Both the previous administrator and I did our best to keep everything running stably. Most of the day I spend on the Internet or helping others at the station — for example, yesterday I was moving water supplies from one attic to another. When something breaks, of course, no one touches me — I repair it. I plan global rearrangements and improvements for night shifts,» the specialist noted.
Previously, dev.ua wrote that on the occasion of World Science Day, in the name of peace and development, the Ukrainian station «Academician Vernadsky» organized a live broadcast about the study of Antarctica.
