Add beginner-friendly automated test coverage

[forthfate]

Goal

Add focused automated tests for one small, well-isolated OpenOrbit feature.

Suggested scope

Choose one API or UI behavior that currently has limited coverage, then add a clear success case and one meaningful failure or edge case. Good candidates include asset deletion safeguards, telemetry trace shaping, or empty-state behavior.

Acceptance criteria

• Tests are deterministic and do not require external credentials or network access.
• The test names explain the expected behavior.
• PYTHONPATH=backend pytest -q passes.
• Briefly document the chosen coverage in the pull request.