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- Different quantity, type, and application of lubrication from previous tests
- Different piston than had previously been fired at all
- More vent holes in the mission package
- One theory as to why the Ground Tests performed on Pathfinder were less effective was because the mission package didn't have vent holes and the diaphragm was previously solid. This would have led to a vacuum occurring in between the cup and the diaphragm, slowing it's movement
- Better contact between the cup and the booster section (the COTS coupler was quite thick, likely thicker than the SRAD Pathfinder coupler)
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- the ground test didn't include the motor case, fin can, payload, ballast, or nose cone. Adding these would have resulted in a lower separation velocity.