Small planetary missions for the Space ShuttleThe paper deals with the concept of a small planetary mission that might be described as one which: (1) focuses on a narrow set of discovery-oriented objectives, (2) utilizes largely existing and proven subsystem capabilities, (3) does not tax future launch vehicle capabilities, and (4) is flexible in terms of mission timing such that it can be easily integrated with launch vehicle schedules. Three small planetary mission concepts are presented: a tour of earth-sun Lagrange regions in search of asteroids which might be gravitationally trapped, a network of spacecraft to search beyond Pluto for a tenth planet; and a probe which could be targeted for infrequent long period 'comets of opportunity' or for a multitude of shorter period comets.
Document ID
19800032278
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Staehle, R. L. (California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Calif., United States)