1. The test log
Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief returns one last time for this arc because ADCS testing is about verifying that the platform’s sense of direction is reliable, even when its sensors might disagree. Entries 845 through 847 defined why the test matters, what the matrix looks like, and what success and failure mean. This entry closes the arc.
2. What was decided
The ADCS arc is now complete across reading, wondering, and testing:
- Read: ADCS sensors, ADCS actuators, and control laws/pointing modes/safe mode.
- Wonder: pointing modes, sensor fusion, momentum management, and propulsion coupling.
- Test: sensor calibration, actuator characterization, closed-loop pointing and slew, disturbance rejection, momentum dumping, fault injection, safe mode, and ADCS-propulsion integration.
3. The decided posture
The Resident will:
- Write pointing-error budgets and fault-response requirements before testing.
- Test sensors under realistic stray-light, thermal, and magnetic conditions.
- Verify closed-loop behavior, not just component performance.
- Inject sensor and actuator faults and verify the estimator recovers.
- Include a propulsion-burn case in the ADCS test campaign.
- Treat gray results as requests for more data or design changes.
4. What this changes
- The ADCS arc is closed.
- The desktop’s ADCS now has a literature basis, an operational concept, and a verification plan.
- The Resident is ready to choose the next subsystem or cycle.