Badgerloop in California: Day 5
Date: Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Our day ended at roughly 3 AM Tuesday morning with the electrical team working to actuate all of the solenoids on the pod and verify their pinout scheme. Upon completion, they returned back to the hotel to get some sleep and prepare for the day ahead.

This morning, around 7 AM, a majority of the mechanical team and Ryan from the electrical team returned to Bulletproof to proof test the secondary braking system which they successfully completed. After that, the propulsion and braking teams were able to successfully test both of their systems in tandem. Spirits were high all around because this was a major milestone and marked a very important step towards getting onto the test track.
After both proof tests were completed and everything was packed up, the pod was rolled back to SpaceX for a day of completing official competition tests. The first test that was performed was a structural inspection in which SpaceX engineers verified the integrity of our pod’s construction. Every rivet, bolt, and piece of metal that comprised the structure were checked to ensure that it would stay together during the full scale run. Unfortunately, SpaceX doesn’t permit photography on their campus so we aren’t able to show this process but the team, especially structural members Chris and James, were relieved to have passed.

Throughout the day, a number of errands were needed for the pod such as buying screws, refilling air tanks, or machining stability wheels. Luckily, Los Angeles has just about every service you could imagine so getting an important component is never more than half an hour away.
After the SpaceX lot closed up at 5:00, the pod was moved back to Bulletproof along with the carbon fiber shell. The team took a quick break to have a team dinner at a local Hawaiian barbecue restaurant before another night in the workshop.

Most of the mechanical teams were able to rest up at the hotel for the night, focusing on system documentation that SpaceX frequently asks for when talking about our pod. Braking and electrical members however, had another late night in the shop. The electrical team worked with the retroreflective sensors on the shell to ensure that they would be ready for navigational tests in the next few days. The braking team had to implement a few design changes after reviewing the system with our SpaceX advisors. This included adding safety valves and reproofing the air systems, checking for and mending leaks along the way.

Overall, we’re still on course to complete all of the necessary checks to run on the test track this weekend. We have more prepared than most teams but aren’t yet in the lead and a single day of tests can change everything. Keep a lookout for more coverage this week as we get closer to the final competition on Sunday.
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Next Post: Day 6
