Destination pluto: New horizons performance during the approach phase. (November 2016)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Destination pluto: New horizons performance during the approach phase. (November 2016)
- Main Title:
- Destination pluto: New horizons performance during the approach phase
- Authors:
- Flanigan, Sarah H.
Rogers, Gabe D.
Guo, Yanping
Kirk, Madeline N.
Weaver, Harold A.
Owen, William M.
Jackman, Coralie D.
Bauman, Jeremy
Pelletier, Frederic
Nelson, Derek
Stanbridge, Dale
Dumont, Phillip J.
Williams, Bobby
Stern, S. Alan
Olkin, Cathy B.
Young, Leslie A.
Ennico, Kimberly - Abstract:
- Abstract: The New Horizons spacecraft began its journey to the Pluto-Charon system on January 19, 2006 on-board an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program, the objective of the New Horizons mission is to perform the first exploration of ice dwarfs in the Kuiper Belt, extending knowledge of the solar system to include the icy "third zone" for the first time. Arriving at the correct time and correct position relative to Pluto on July 14, 2015 depended on the successful execution of a carefully choreographed sequence of events. The Core command sequence, which was developed and optimized over multiple years and included the highest-priority science observations during the closest approach period, was contingent on precise navigation to the Pluto-Charon system and nominal performance of the guidance and control (G&C) subsystem. The flyby and gravity assist of Jupiter on February 28, 2007 was critical in placing New Horizons on the path to Pluto. Once past Jupiter, trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) became the sole source of trajectory control since the spacecraft did not encounter any other planetary bodies along its flight path prior to Pluto. During the Pluto approach phase, which formally began on January 15, 2015, optical navigation images were captured primarily with the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager to refine spacecraft and Pluto-Charon system trajectory knowledge, which in turn was used to design TCMs. OrbitAbstract: The New Horizons spacecraft began its journey to the Pluto-Charon system on January 19, 2006 on-board an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. As the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program, the objective of the New Horizons mission is to perform the first exploration of ice dwarfs in the Kuiper Belt, extending knowledge of the solar system to include the icy "third zone" for the first time. Arriving at the correct time and correct position relative to Pluto on July 14, 2015 depended on the successful execution of a carefully choreographed sequence of events. The Core command sequence, which was developed and optimized over multiple years and included the highest-priority science observations during the closest approach period, was contingent on precise navigation to the Pluto-Charon system and nominal performance of the guidance and control (G&C) subsystem. The flyby and gravity assist of Jupiter on February 28, 2007 was critical in placing New Horizons on the path to Pluto. Once past Jupiter, trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) became the sole source of trajectory control since the spacecraft did not encounter any other planetary bodies along its flight path prior to Pluto. During the Pluto approach phase, which formally began on January 15, 2015, optical navigation images were captured primarily with the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager to refine spacecraft and Pluto-Charon system trajectory knowledge, which in turn was used to design TCMs. Orbit determination solutions were also used to update the spacecraft's on-board trajectory knowledge throughout the approach phase. Nominal performance of the G&C subsystem, accurate TCM designs, and high-quality orbit determination solutions resulted in final Pluto-relative B-plane arrival conditions that facilitated a successful first reconnaissance of the Pluto-Charon system. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Acta astronautica. Volume 128(2016)
- Journal:
- Acta astronautica
- Issue:
- Volume 128(2016)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 128, Issue 2016 (2016)
- Year:
- 2016
- Volume:
- 128
- Issue:
- 2016
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2016-0128-2016-0000
- Page Start:
- 33
- Page End:
- 43
- Publication Date:
- 2016-11
- Subjects:
- Astronautics -- Periodicals
Outer space -- Exploration -- Periodicals
Astronautics
Periodicals
629.405 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00945765 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.actaastro.2016.02.029 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0094-5765
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 0596.750000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 2641.xml