Kevin Zagorski
@kevzag.bsky.social
currently: building space stations at Vast 🌌
prev: south pole telescope operations 📡
prev: rocket engineer 🚀
always: taco appreciator 🌮
il faut aller voir
prev: south pole telescope operations 📡
prev: rocket engineer 🚀
always: taco appreciator 🌮
il faut aller voir
always easy to spot the engineers at the star trek event because they're the ones taking selfies with the warp core.
May 12, 2025 at 3:51 AM
always easy to spot the engineers at the star trek event because they're the ones taking selfies with the warp core.
brushing up on space station acoustics design is much more enjoyable with a catalina express spicy bloody mary in hand.
April 27, 2025 at 7:44 PM
brushing up on space station acoustics design is much more enjoyable with a catalina express spicy bloody mary in hand.
harvest your dinner from oil rig support beams. you can just do things.
March 12, 2025 at 2:08 AM
harvest your dinner from oil rig support beams. you can just do things.
Plus the Catalina Express makes a mean post-dive bloody mary.
February 23, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Plus the Catalina Express makes a mean post-dive bloody mary.
Woke up at 5am on a Saturday to hang out with sea lions. Back home in time for lunch. You'll have to pry California from my cold dead hands.
February 23, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Woke up at 5am on a Saturday to hang out with sea lions. Back home in time for lunch. You'll have to pry California from my cold dead hands.
I get a real kick out of diving with my Orca Edge which was the first commercially available dive computer released in 1983. Still works great even though it looks like an aluminum brick! Always have a modern backup though...
February 21, 2025 at 4:48 AM
I get a real kick out of diving with my Orca Edge which was the first commercially available dive computer released in 1983. Still works great even though it looks like an aluminum brick! Always have a modern backup though...
After fixing a mailing address snafu I finally received my Antarctic Service medal. It's one of the few DoD medals that civilians are eligible for. Pretty neat.
Qualifying for the medal itself only requires 10 days of service on continent. The "Wintered Over" bar takes a little bit longer to get...
Qualifying for the medal itself only requires 10 days of service on continent. The "Wintered Over" bar takes a little bit longer to get...
February 9, 2025 at 8:54 PM
After fixing a mailing address snafu I finally received my Antarctic Service medal. It's one of the few DoD medals that civilians are eligible for. Pretty neat.
Qualifying for the medal itself only requires 10 days of service on continent. The "Wintered Over" bar takes a little bit longer to get...
Qualifying for the medal itself only requires 10 days of service on continent. The "Wintered Over" bar takes a little bit longer to get...
Realizing I haven't updated the blue place on my new gig: I started a few weeks ago in the Flight Safety & Mission Assurance group at Vast. We're vying to build the replacement to the International Space Station. It's really cool!
February 5, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Realizing I haven't updated the blue place on my new gig: I started a few weeks ago in the Flight Safety & Mission Assurance group at Vast. We're vying to build the replacement to the International Space Station. It's really cool!
Building big space stations means building big doors.
File under: "Things you don't appreciate until you're doing it"
File under: "Things you don't appreciate until you're doing it"
February 5, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Building big space stations means building big doors.
File under: "Things you don't appreciate until you're doing it"
File under: "Things you don't appreciate until you're doing it"
There was no winter machinist on station this past year so our utilities tech and I took on the fabrication (in addition to our normal jobs). I'm stoked with how it turned out and it's pretty neat that everyone visiting the South Pole over the next year will get to see it.
January 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
There was no winter machinist on station this past year so our utilities tech and I took on the fabrication (in addition to our normal jobs). I'm stoked with how it turned out and it's pretty neat that everyone visiting the South Pole over the next year will get to see it.
Each year's pole marker is different and the winter crew can choose what sort of message they want to send with the design. With so many infrastructure challenges threatening the US Antarctic program these days we wanted to re-focus on the reason we were there in the first place: Science.
January 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Each year's pole marker is different and the winter crew can choose what sort of message they want to send with the design. With so many infrastructure challenges threatening the US Antarctic program these days we wanted to re-focus on the reason we were there in the first place: Science.
Every Jan 1st at the South Pole the summer season crew unveils the new geographic pole marker which is designed and fabricated on-site by the previous winterover team. I had the privilege of machining the 2025 marker with my buddy Luke and I can finally show it off.
January 2, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Every Jan 1st at the South Pole the summer season crew unveils the new geographic pole marker which is designed and fabricated on-site by the previous winterover team. I had the privilege of machining the 2025 marker with my buddy Luke and I can finally show it off.
Beelining for Japan after a year in Antarctica was the pro-est move
December 12, 2024 at 12:34 AM
Beelining for Japan after a year in Antarctica was the pro-est move
13 months in Antarctica.
Finally saw a penguin (in NZ).
Finally saw a penguin (in NZ).
December 2, 2024 at 7:07 PM
13 months in Antarctica.
Finally saw a penguin (in NZ).
Finally saw a penguin (in NZ).
Last footsteps in Antarctica after 13 long months.
December 2, 2024 at 6:16 AM
Last footsteps in Antarctica after 13 long months.
In my hotel in Christchurch. Can't escape 😂
November 30, 2024 at 8:24 PM
In my hotel in Christchurch. Can't escape 😂
Attempts to leave South Pole are becoming more desperate by the day.
November 25, 2024 at 2:05 AM
Attempts to leave South Pole are becoming more desperate by the day.
Moving to places where the default orientation of globes is *not* Antarctica-up is going to take some getting used to...
November 19, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Moving to places where the default orientation of globes is *not* Antarctica-up is going to take some getting used to...
365 days at South Pole station, about a week left to go. We spent the day training the new winterover crew and posing for Radio Telescope Men Quarterly.
November 17, 2024 at 9:06 PM
365 days at South Pole station, about a week left to go. We spent the day training the new winterover crew and posing for Radio Telescope Men Quarterly.
Be not afraid, the 600 foot-pound torque wrench is your friend.
November 16, 2024 at 2:15 AM
Be not afraid, the 600 foot-pound torque wrench is your friend.
One last photo with the whole 2024 South Pole science team before two of our crew flew out last week.
November 11, 2024 at 9:13 PM
One last photo with the whole 2024 South Pole science team before two of our crew flew out last week.
Sneak preview of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station winterover crew photo alongside our first aircraft arrival of the season.
October 18, 2024 at 11:46 PM
Sneak preview of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station winterover crew photo alongside our first aircraft arrival of the season.
After a long 7 months without seeing a single new face, flight operations have resumed at the South Pole with the arrivals of a pair of de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft.
October 18, 2024 at 11:32 PM
After a long 7 months without seeing a single new face, flight operations have resumed at the South Pole with the arrivals of a pair of de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft.
Sun is finally up at South Pole!
September 24, 2024 at 1:08 AM
Sun is finally up at South Pole!
Our roof-mounted TELMA space laser was looking pretty slick last week. TELMA is a DLR instrument that measures air temperature and density from ground level to 100km.
July 15, 2024 at 9:10 AM
Our roof-mounted TELMA space laser was looking pretty slick last week. TELMA is a DLR instrument that measures air temperature and density from ground level to 100km.