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- The engine controller is connected and powered on, defaulting to disabled mode with all valves closed
- All solenoids are electrically connected, but there is no fuel in the engine. The controller is placed in test mode and all valves, indicator lights, and igniters are tested.
- The engine is placed into cold mode and the filling process begins. All personnel are evacuated except for the minimum needed for filling.
- The engine is fueled and pressurized, then the controller is placed into hot mode. All personnel are evacuated.
- The engine test is loaded in the ground station and the countdown clock is begun, a hold can be initiated for any pre-test checks as well.
- The engine completes a test fire, the data is verified and the engine is placed into cold mode.
- Any remaining fuel is emptied by the minimum personnel, then the engine is placed in disabled mode.
- The engine controller is shutdown and disconnected.
Additional Precautions
Engine commands can only be sent physically from the ground station OR remotely from a password protected dashboard hosted over a standard web browser. Only the ground station operator and a single dashboard has access to manually commanding valves, while a second dashboard shows sensor data and has controls to set safing active or stop the countdown clock.