I'll agree with this completely. While we are NO AMSAT, we here at Near Space Sciences, (one of the balloon groups) have in the heat of the launch excitement have just plain forgot to turn something "ON"
Without a formal checklist, where everything must be checked off the list before liftoff, or lift off doesn't happen, something is bound to be missed. it happens on our simple payloads, i can not even imagine the complexity of a real AMSAT type of bird!
Joe WB9SBD
Robert McGwier wrote:
Yet again, a statement based on no knowledge of the real situation. MOST space failures are caused by exactly this kind of thing. A wrench left behind and falling and puncturing a tank. Incomplete testing of this or that and a SUPPOSITION that it was "Okay". Satellites not bolted down when everyone assumed it was and a $100,000,000 satellite falls to the floor. These space things are extremely complex and if every system had to be tested to perfection, none could afford them. The goal of a good trained space/spacecraft engineer is to design robust systems that have the really supercritical things testable and the rest, well, the rules for that are in the adjoining testing manual (the local religious book, for prayer).
Bob