WEBVTT

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The primary way that we detect problems on the spacecraft
is we make it smart enough to detect them on its own

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So the spacecraft has a system called fault protection

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It's constantly looking for how the spacecraft
hardware and software is operating

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Is everything going per plan?
Do we have anything that's not operating as expected?

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So if, we're spinning and the spin rate gets out of control,
a fault protection is looking at the spin rate and determining: 

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Okay this level of spin is okay and, and if it gets past this number I'm not happy.
And so if it gets to a number that it's not happy it will take action.

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It actually will take care of it itself.
And then after it's reconfigured or whatever,

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then it will send down information
and let us know that that's what happened.

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Or, if it can't solve a problem or the problem
is too large it will put it in safe mode 

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and basically say okay, I'm just going to wait
for the ground to help me because I'm confused

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Nothing should cause further problems for the spacecraft,
we shut down the instruments, we shut down other aspects of the spacecraft

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and we make it kind of operate very simply at a very low
data transfer level so that when the earth picks it up its very apparent to us

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right away that it's had a problem
and we can then start fixing it right away.

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The spacecraft would continue to operate after it experiences a particular fault.
One particular fault will not result in a total failure of the spacecraft.

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Our little spacecraft these days are very complicated and,
and they're very smart they know how to take care of themselves.