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TIGER / ANITA / ARIA hangtest
The day
finally came for the hangtest, the
last and most important hoop before flight. It was scheduled to
begin around 9:00 AM but the surface winds were still a bit high and so
it was delayed until 10:00. After getting all the necessary
shields put onto the NSBF SIP and charge controller, the entire TIGER /
ANITA / ARIA payload was hoisted. The entire payload weighed in
at about 2800 lbs. The Boss then pulled up to the weatherport and
the payload was rolled out onto the deck to be hoisted. Before
long, the payload was dangling from the 105,000-pound Boss's crane like
a fancy hood ornament.
The hangtest is good for a number of reasons.
As the instrument hangs from the truck, we can get an idea of how the
cold air and direct sunshine will affect the instrument.
Furthermore, it gives us a chance to test out both our line-of-sight
and TDRSS telemetry without possible disruptions caused by being
indoors or by people moving around. The NSBF also attaches the
flight solar panels to the instrument to make sure that the instruments
onboard can operate using solar power.
After only a few small problems, the ANITA payload
was up and running and working fine with TIGER. Our second TDRSS
test went remarkably well, with very few data dropouts. After all
was said and done, the entire collaboration felt good about how things
had gone.
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