Saturday, April 10, 2021

More Rotor "Pre-Flight Speed" Testing Needed, On Ingenuity -- On Mars. Launch Delayed By At Least Two Days -- To April 14.


So. . . the takeoff could possibly be beyond April 14, depending on how the next scheduled set of tests turn out.

The onboard computer shut the rotors down early, on Friday -- after exceeding a pre-set limit. The downloaded data stream, from that event, is now being studied at NASA; then a "make-up" test will be scheduled and conducted. Here's the latest, from the Mars Ingenuity ops team, at NASA:

. . .Based on data from the Ingenuity Mars helicopter that arrived late Friday night, NASA has chosen to reschedule the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s first experimental flight to no earlier than April 14.

During a high-speed spin test of the rotors on Friday, the command sequence controlling the test ended early due to a “watchdog” timer expiration. This occurred as it was trying to transition the flight computer from ‘Pre-Flight’ to ‘Flight’ mode. The helicopter is safe and healthy and communicated its full telemetry set to Earth.

The watchdog timer oversees the command sequence and alerts the system to any potential issues. It helps the system stay safe by not proceeding if an issue is observed and worked as planned.

The helicopter team is reviewing telemetry to diagnose and understand the issue. Following that, they will reschedule the full-speed test. . . .


Onward, grinning. . . .





नमस्ते

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