Aerobrakes — Lesson 15: System Integration

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The flight computer, the ported control algorithm, and the physical mechanism have each been built and tested on their own. This session is where they become one system.

Objective: the flight computer, brake controller, and mechanism all work together as a single integrated system.

Session Activities

Wire the full signal chain end to end: flight computer detects the relevant flight event, hands off to event detection logic, which feeds the brake controller, which drives the mechanism. Bench test the complete chain against a simulated flight profile before any real flight is attempted.

Enforcement Checkpoint

Produce an integration test log that explicitly shows the airbrake only ever actuates within the coast-phase window — the same core safety rule from Lesson 12, now verified at the full-system level rather than just in the flight computer alone.

Maps to milestone P3-M3.