Pioneer H Jupiter swingby out-of-the-ecliptic: Mission study

摘要

A study of the Pioneer Out-of-Ecliptic Mission was accomplished as an in-house ARC effort, with supporting tasks performed by the TRW Systems Group. Study objectives were set as follows: (1) Develop the basic scientific rationale for the mission; (2) Establish mission requirements, the range of mission possibilities, and basic mission design; (3) Determine the technical suitability of the present Pioneer for this mission, and particularly, if the F/G prototype spacecraft could be used; and (4) Investigate program feasibility for a launch during the 1974 opportunity. This report has been prepared to present the study results, and the technical basis and background supporting the study conclusions. The initial NASA Headquarters guidelines specified use of the Titan/Centaur launch vehicle (with appropriate upper stage). Recently, some questions have developed concerning the availability of this booster for a 1974 launch. With this, the study was expanded to consider other launch vehicles, particularly the Atlas/Centaur/TE 364-4. Because of this circumstance, mission characteristics for both Atlas and Titan trajectories are presented. Also, the analyses of Pioneer F/G capabilities are given for the Atlas launched missions as well as Titan.