AAS 04-136 NEW HORIZONS PLUTO APPROACH NAVIGATION
The navigation of the New Horizons spacecraft during approach to Pluto and its satellite Charon is described. The great distance of the spacecraft from the Earth and Sun presents several new challenges that are identified and described by analytic formula. The two-body dynamics present a particularly interesting problem of satellite orbit determination. A complete covariance analysis is performed describing navigation and science data acquisition accuracies. The results of the covariance analysis are compared with analytic formula to provide insight into the operation of the navigation system.
New Horizons Pluto-Kuiper Belt mission: design and simulation of the Pluto-Charon encounter
Abstract The primary goal of the New Horizons Pluto–Kuiper Belt mission is to explore Pluto by 2020, before Pluto's atmosphere collapses as predicted by scientists, and then explore the Kuiper Belt objects in an extended mission. The baseline mission plans to launch in January 2006, using a Jupiter gravity assist trajectory to reach Pluto. The New Horizons spacecraft will arrive at Pluto as early as 2015, depending on the launch vehicle. For such a mission, whose exploration takes place during a brief flyby period after a long cruise, a thorough planning of the encounter is especially critical to the realization of optimal science observations. A detailed Pluto encounter trajectory design that achieves both solar occultation and Earth occultation by both Pluto and Charon is described in this paper, along with discussions of the design rationale and considerations. Science observations and measurements planned for the Pluto–Charon encounter are simulated and analyzed, and a comprehensive Pluto–Charon encounter process filled with detailed science observation simulations is demonstrated in a 3-D animation.
Pluto flyby mission design concepts for very small and moderate spacecraft
This paper discusses the trade-offs involved in the design of a Pluto flyby mission using a low-mass spacecraft, the objective of which is the first-ever reconnaissance of the Pluto/Charon system. The analyses include launch opportunity/trajectory identification/launch vehicle trades, flight time vs net spacecraft mass trades, and flyby targeting considerations. Two mission concepts currently under development are discussed. One concept involves an 83 kg dry spacecraft which uses a direct trajectory and a Titan IV/Centaur (with two solid rocket motor upper stages) to reach Pluto in 7 years. The other design is a 316 kg dry spacecraft which uses a 3+Delta VEJGA trajectory and a Delta II (7925) to arrive at Pluto in 13.6 years.