[amsat-bb] A Hole in AO40?

["Lee" <lee-fl@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I sure would love to see a more detailed explanation of this quote from
today's Amsat News 119.  How these things are deduced is absolutely
fascinating to me.

<begin>
Recent data from the spacecraft suggest that the mid-December
incident that silenced AO-40 for two weeks and rendered some systems
unusable also might have blown a hole in the spacecraft. Haighton said
ground controllers have detected a distinct rise in temperature when the
Sun faces parts of AO-40. "Speculation is there could be damage, and
sunlight is getting right in," he said. That theory would go along with the
loss of the satellite's omni-directional antennas, Haighton added. The
speculated opening was not causing any major problems, he said, but it
could explain why efforts to adjust AO-40's attitude via magnetorquing
have been unpredictable.
<end>

Lee-KU4OS

----
Via the amsat-bb mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe amsat-bb" to Majordomo@amsat.org