Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Fuses and Reaction Wheels
Message-ID: <3775@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Apr-84 19:24:49 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.3775
Posted: Sat Apr 21 19:24:49 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Apr-84 19:24:49 EST
References: <12307@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 21

Sheldon Meth observes:

    I heard an (unconfirmed) story that Solar Max's fuses
    blew because the gas contained in them diffused into
    space resulting in a lower current rating than
    the (well behaved) circuit they were in.

According to the chief scientist for Solar Max (a talk from him was
part of the NSI launch tour I took for the 41C launch), nobody was
quite sure what the problem with Solar Max's attitude-control system
fuses was.  There was a great deal of interest in examining the bad
module to try to determine what caused the problem.

He also said, incidentally, that the bring-it-back-to-Earth-if-we-
can't-fix-it option was definitely a last resort, because there was
no funding allocated for either repair or relaunch after return.
"We are planning for a successful in-space repair."  He must have
been awfully happy when the last grabbing attempt succeeded.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry