Over a six-year period, CONTOUR will fly within 100 kilometers of three comet nuclei: Encke in 2003, Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 in 2006, and finally d'Arrest in 2008. CONTOUR will take images, make spectral maps, and analyze dust and gas. The payload includes fixed and tracking imagers that will provide high-resolution images and spectral maps. CONTOUR uses several innovative techniques for performing deep space missions at low cost. These include an indirect launch strategy, unattended hibernation, and an innovative mission and spacecraft design. This paper compares the CONTOUR design and development approach with other recent programs and identifies challenges CONTOUR will face in this era of faster, cheaper, and better.
The CONTOUR discovery mission
1999 IEEE Aerospace Conference. Proceedings (Cat. No.99TH8403) ; 2 ; 11-18 vol.2
01.01.1999
836559 byte
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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