Photo album: "ARAKS: Second launch"

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A new waiting period has begun after the first launch. On February 3^rd 1975, an ARCAS rocket is launched and shows that all the required conditions for an ARAKS launch are not met. The same day, Marion Dufresne, who arrived on February 1^st evening, leaves. All the conditions for a second ARAKS launch are met only on February 15^th. The Soviet ship Borovici who has completed her mission, leaves Golf of Morbihan on February 19^th.. On February 21^st, Marion Dufresne makes a short call at Port-aux-Français. On February 25^th Kudrevic, another Soviet ship, arrives. She comes to fetch the different scientific teams who have participated in the ARAKS campaign. She leaves on March 2^nd. In the meantime the Géophy team goes on with its works, amongst which is the modernization of the ionosonde. Our campaign ends on March 17^th, we embark on Marion Dufresne who leaves, heading to Réunion island.

On Saturday February 15th 1975, the conditions for a second ARAKS launch are finally met.

A first ARCAS rocket is launched.

A few minutes later, a second ARACS rocket has taken off.

At 7:36 am the Eridan rocket takes off with a deafening noise.

The main receiving and tracking antenna is operational.

The backup antenna is ready to take over if necessary.

Inside the Géophy laboratory, the Soviet scientist observes its instruments.

Bernard Morlet is checking the geophysical activity at the ground level. He is helped by Alain Lamalle, who spent the winter over with me in Dumont d'Urville in 1967 and who is now working with the scientific office of the French Southern and Antarctic Territories.

After the launch, Jean-Yves Delahaye, from the GRI's ARAKS scientific team, retrieves the different graphical checkup recordings of the experiment.

This is what is left of the first stage of the Eridan rocket after it fell down onto the earth. The second stage and the ejectable nose cone fell down into the sea.

The whole body of the first stage of the rocket has folded up like an accordion at the moment of impact with the ground.

On March 2nd 1975, all the ARAKS materiel has been loaded into the soviet ship Kudrevic. The Soviet, American and French scientific teams are leaving us.

On the pier, all the people who are leaving and the ones who accompany them are waiting for the barge.

The Soviet cineaste is filming the departure.

On the barge which is moving away from the pier, the leaving people are waving a last hello.

Kudrevic is sailing away.

Our departure is drawing near and, taking advantage of a fine weather, we are taking a last Sunday walk.

This discarded tractor belonged to the SIDAP company and was used to transport the elephant seal carcasses to the processing plant.

However years have passed by and the elephant seals have no longer to fear from the men who come and visit them. They are protected as well as the whole autochthon fauna. This male elephant seal is impressive enough and I am sure I fail to come up to weight with it. Therefore I am prudently staying at a safe distance.

We are watching for the last time the sun setting over Kerguelen. Tomorrow we will embark onto Marion Dufresne.

On Monday March 17th 1975, different kinds of materiel are loaded onto the barges in order to be embarked into Marion Dufresne.

In the afternoon, we are watching the moving away pier, where people who are going to spend the austral winter in Kerguelen are busying themselves. When we arrive at Réunion island, six months will have passed by since I left France.

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