Hi Drew,
Did the flipping activity have a net (lasting) effect on the satellite's spin rate? I recall a discussion on how slow the bird was spinning, implying that we'd like it to go a bit faster (is that true?). Since we're putting energy into the satellite's orientation via the magnet, I'd expect the energy should partly wind up as heat in the dampers. Wouldn't the rest go into spin?
Just curious,
Greg KO6TH
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:03:02 -0500 From: [email protected] To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-51 returned to normal attitude
Last night we repolarized the magnet on AO-51 to again favor the northern hemisphere. There may be some rapid fading as the nutation dampers do their job over the next few weeks. The command team appreciates all the reports and observations during this experiment.
73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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