0315hrs: your alarm sounds the reveille - not a nice time to be getting up, but you find the bathroom is already taken. Before long Glynne Bowsher emerges and Ron Ayers takes his place. "This is ridiculous", you think. "It's summer, the sun isn't up yet, and there's a queue for the bathroom." Your turn comes, and when you emerge Richard Noble takes your place.

(The sun rises behind the Pegasus microlight. Photo: Jeremy Davey. Image taken with a Fujifilm DS-515A Digital Card Camera)

By 0400 everyone is tucking into cereals and toast. By 0500 they are on the desert - there are a few detail items to be dealt with before the car can run.

(ThrustSSC rolled out and ready for action. Photo: Jeremy Davey. Image taken with a Fujifilm DS-515A Digital Card Camera)

Eventually ThrustSSC is rolled out of the Aireshelta and prepared for action: air-conditioning is fed to the electronics, the on-board cameras are tested and tapes inserted into the recorders, and a hundred-and-one other small items are dealt with. Operations Manager Martyn Davidson briefs the team in the now empty hangar - an hour later the convoy sets out across the Jafr. A Supacat tows the car and air-conditioning 'dolly', followed by the Jaguar firechase, two Land-Rover Discovery's with the Palouste air-starters, a third 'Disco' with team members and the Badir desert police in their smart new Land-Rovers (with huge machine-guns on the back!).

(Jeremy Bliss and Andy Green discuss the forthcoming run. Photo: Jeremy Davey. Image taken with a Fujifilm DS-515A Digital Card Camera)

Eventually everyone reaches the start point at Mile 8.5 - the car would run to the North. ThrustSSC is lined up on track 12 and the Supacat brought alongside with its generator running to power the car. Jeremy Bliss (Vehicle Systems) plugs in one of his new Digital laptops and set the car's computers while engine man Chris Cowell takes the covers off the ends of the Speys and checks his charges are OK. Driver Andy Green checks out his cockpit. All the time Bill Grist and his BBC crew wander round recording the action and being careful to stay out of the way.

All is ready - one of the Paloustes is started in the intense heat. Popping to itself, it is plugged into the left hand engine. With a whine the Spey spools up and ignites well. The air hose is passed under the car and the right-hand engine also starts. The air hose and computer link are detached and the access panels replaced. All vehicles pull back from the car and Andy calls for permission to run.

"SSC, clear roll," is Adam Northcote-Wright's clear reply from the Pit Station - only 3½ miles away across the flat pan but barely visible through the haze. The huge white Aireshelta on the other hand stands out clearly.

(ThrustSSC pulls away from the start. Photo: Jeremy Davey. Image taken with a Fujifilm DS-515A Digital Card Camera)

The engine note rises as Andy releases the brakes and applies power. Ron Ayers' run profile calls for a short, slow-speed run to check the systems for leaks, and Andy gives the team just that as he slowly pulls away raising a cloud of dust behind. By the time he slows again the car is obscured from the start team's view.

Before long Andy's voice is heard on the radio again:

"SSC is stopped."

Radio silence is maintained and everyone holds their position in case of any problem, until finally the awaited call comes:

"SSC is safe."

(ThrustSSC's desert tracks. Photo: Jeremy Davey. Image taken with a Fujifilm DS-515A Digital Card Camera)

The North team go into action to recover the car while Glynne Bowsher checks the tracks left by ThrustSSC on the desert. In places the car has left marks straighter than the white lines Andy was following, while in others it is possible to see where the wheels have skipped over the bumps. Back at the Pit Station Andy is very pleased with the run, describing the ride as: "As smooth as a Discovery." Jeremy Bliss is checking his telemetry results - the two huge dish antennae on the pneumatic mast have successfully retrieved information from throttle positions to wheel RPMs during the run. The graphs on his screen look good.

(ThrustSSC is returned to the desert pits by a Supacat. Photo: Jeremy Davey. Image taken with a Fujifilm DS-515A Digital Card Camera)

Before long the SSC is back in its Aireshelta being checked over by Nick Dove's crew - and no doubt checked out around the world through the Web Cameras. Martyn Davidson debriefs the team - a peak speed of 130mph was achieved without afterburners and no problems have been found yet. There are missile tests in the area tomorrow, which may prevent another run and may require removal of the car from the desert. Whether the SSC runs or not, it will be another 'breakfast at four'.

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