This is not a pipe. (It is a picture of a pipe) |
Is this a picture of a spacecraft? |
- It has structure.
- It has command/data handling.
- It has a science payload with multiple instruments.
- It has independent power - it is charged from the rocket payload, but carries its own battery and is capable of operating for the whole mission from launch through recovery. In fact, it did operate on its own power during entry and descent. From the point of view of the Rocketometer, the external power system is ground support equipment.
- It is capable of operating in the vacuum and freefall of space. If it were magically transported into orbit, it would operate for at least a little while (it lacks thermal control).
- It lacks propulsion and recover, but so do many spacecraft.
The biggest strike against it is that it was bolted inside another spacecraft. How many other systems in the rocket would I count as a spacecraft under this same definition?
The other biggest strike is that it has no telecom system. I know of spacecraft which have been flown with transmitters but no receivers, but the only spacecraft I can think of that had neither were things like Echo, Lageos, and Starshine. Do those count as spacecraft?
Note (2025-04-05) The pictured Rocketometer has two solder connections and no other connections on the pin header populated. I have two nearly identical rocketometers, but I care which one actually went to space and is the trophy. One of them has all 8 pins soldered to a pin header, while the other one has never had any pins soldered to it -- all holes are still gold and shiny. Other details like particular capacitors shifted to one side or another (like the resistor to the left of the 32kiHz crystal) match the one with pins. I therefore conclude that the one with pins is the one that flew. This one is marked "2" in yellow ink on the "back" side with the SD card slot.
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