[AR] Re: Portland State Aerospace Society
- From: Henry Vanderbilt <hvanderbilt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:07:14 -0700
On 4/26/2016 2:49 PM, Henry Spencer wrote:
On Tue, 26 Apr 2016, Henry Vanderbilt wrote:
- If you see a significant runtime anomaly in the video after an
engine test, stop and do a thorough engine inspection, with teardown
if necessary. Chances are there's a reason for the anomaly.
A related observation for systems with LOX or other cryo fluids: if
frost appears on a part of the plumbing where it's not expected, find
out why.
That's good rocket-test advice in general. If during a test, something
behaves in a way significantly different from previous experience with
that system, if at all possible stop and figure out why before
proceeding. Something's changed. It may be an inconsequential change,
it may not. (Either way, figuring it out may give you new and useful
insight into your system.)
In the case Henry mentions, it may be something as simple as a
high-humidity day after your previous tests were low-humidity. Or it
could be something serious. (Or, unexpected high humidity itself might
end up serious, leading to jamming some mechanism assumed functional.)
(That last is a classic problem when following desert testing with
coastal operation.)
Henry
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