Holy cow, it is here already.
This was the last week of my internship at LASP; finally, I have time to sit and write my blog.
This week at LASP, we finally got ready to ship MinXSS-2 off for its rapidly approaching launch. For the week, we prepped to get into thermal testing in a vacuum chamber, to make sure the new battery packs we had built were ready to work in space. Our first preliminary testing showed the pack was running at about half the capacity it originally had, so we had to partly disassemble the satellite to find the problem. It is a good thing we did because the board on one of the cells of the battery had been broken. We replaced the cell, and due to voltage issues, the battery pack only got up to 75% original capacity. Though not perfect, this was much better than with the broken board and the capacity increased towards 100% with every cycle.
On Friday, we finished the thermal vacuum testing, and I signed out on my last day. It is hard to believe five weeks could feel so fast, and yet my routine was so set that I could hardly convince myself it was the last day. I said goodbye and headed to a baseball game: the Rockies vs. the Oakland Athletics. The Rockies have been red-hot this month, especially at home, but the A’s had won or tied their last 11 series, so it promised to be a good game. It delivered, with a 3-1 Rockies win (on our way to sweeping them in the series over the weekend).
Saturday morning, I headed to have breakfast with my cousins. Later in the morning, since it was my last chance to meet up with my fellow Pinterns for a while, Jess, Mike, Aidan, and I went bowling. Out of three rounds, Aidan won every one, and I placed second in two. We went to lunch nearby at a Qdoba then headed back to Boulder. When we got there, Mike and I got our guitars out of the car, sat down with an overturned hat next to us, and played. Though we did not play for long before lightning sent us scattering, we did make some money!
Sunday morning, before heading home with my parents, we got up early for a 6:40 tee time at Legacy Ridge golf course. For the first three holes, the fog was so dense we could barely see past the tee box. It cleared up, though, and I may have been far from setting a course record, but it was a good sendoff before spending the day in the car.
This month has been without a doubt the best in my life, with no chances for boredom. The intensity of my internship was perfectly balanced with the unique and awesome activities in which I participated in the evenings and on weekends. This is truly an experience I will never forget.
There are no comments published yet.