[Ground-station] pop quiz!

[Michelle Thompson]

Good question - post with a generous spoiler alert style header. Cc Phil
for a faster reply.

On Mon, Jun 11, 2018, 04:52 Zach Leffke via Ground-Station
<ground-station at lists.openresearch.institute> wrote:

> Do you want answers (or attempts at answers) on the list or direct to you?
>
>
> -Zach, KJ4QLP
>
> Research Associate
> Aerospace Systems Lab
> Ted & Karyn Hume Center for National Security & Technology
> Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
> Work Phone: 540-231-4174
> Cell Phone: 540-808-6305
>
> On 6/8/2018 10:36 PM, Michelle Thompson via Ground-Station wrote:
>
> Phil Karn KA9Q has been working on something fun for us. If you enjoy this
> quiz, please feel free to share it and let him know!
>
> Given the documents that you can find at:
> https://github.com/phase4space/AO-10-blueprints
>
> Quiz for fans of the AMSAT Phase IIIB/AO-10 blueprints
> Phil Karn, KA9Q
>
> Question 1: AO-10 carried a 400-newton kick (rocket) motor that used
> hypergolic propellants. It was fired only once, but the burn duration was
> 1.68 times longer than planned. Why? (Note: the burn did *not* end because
> of propellant depletion.)
>
> The cause can be discerned from the prints; i.e., it was a hardware
> problem, not a software bug or operational mistake.
>
> Optional hint 1: The burn was timed in hardware.
>
> Question 2: The ground test of the hardware consisted of successfully
> executing a maximal length burn. What tests could have revealed it?
>
> Question 3: Although the first burn did not deplete the propellants, it
> was not possible to fire the engine again because of insufficient helium
> pressure. Why? (Hint: the cause was not insufficient helium loading before
> launch.)
>
>
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