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The radio beacons did not survive the breakup event of the rocket. We need to have a conversation about whether its acceptable for the beacons to not work in case of failures like this, and if not, we need more durable beacons (either design them or buy them.) One way to help fix this could be to use beacons with patch antennas rather than wire whip antennas as they might be more durable.
Software Testing
A lot of progress was made with testing software (over a hundred unit tests were written). But, we need more of a focus on integration testing too. Unit tests are great, but to really test the firmware we need integration tests. I think HOOTL should be a priority for the firmware early next year. We also need more tests of the firmware on the hardware itself.
Avionics Team Structure
As the team orients itself towards a focus on a two stage space shot, the requirements and demands on avionics will become increasingly difficult. Even this year, I struggled with managing the team, learning the diverse set of skills required for avionics to function, training new members, and ensuring that all the requirements were met and tested. I think this is only going to get more difficult, and we might need to restructure avionics for this to work well.
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