Sorry for the delay again but we experienced a rather untimely setback three days ago after discovering that only two of the six magnetotorquers are still functional! We traced the fault back to FET driver circuitry on the ADCS board. The only way to fix this was to take the satellite apart again (well, stripping the solar panels, tie rods, RF shields and top plate) to uncover the ADCS board. Luckily we found a supplier for the IC's we needed to replace in Massachusetts. So it took us a day and a half to get the chips here. Yesterday we replaced the four smokeless chips and now everything is working again and the satellite is in one piece!
The solar panels have also been tested and it seems that they do generate current when illuminated by sun lamps (this was expected of course!). We are still on schedule to integrate the satellite onto the rocket on Tues. The PPA/PAF assembly which arrived today will be mated to the satellite this weekend.
And in other news: Dirk's wife, Sonette, arrived today. He and I went to go and fetch her in Los Angeles this morning. So guess who won't have to endure a cold bed anymore! While we were away, Niki and Prof. Milne had a tour of the two viewing sites which will be used during the launch on 8 Jan. Pictures of those will be sent at a later stage. They also witnessed the successful Florida Delta II launch of NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter on big screen TV this morning. This was the second last Delta launch before SUNSAT. The last one is on 3 Jan. For those coming over for the launch, be prepared for sub zero temperatures while viewing the launch outside on the night of the 8th.
 |
 |
 |
The first picture is entitled: "See no evil"!! (this was taken shortly after discovering the broken torquers). The other two pics show the Delta launch this morning.