The Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) mission is the first of the Mariner Mark II mission set, designed to explore the outer solar system. Major objectives of orbit determination will be determine the positions and masses of the comet and asteroid and the relative position of the spacecraft, which is important to accurate pointing of the scan platform on which the narrow angle camera and scientific instruments are positioned. Position prediction is also important, since continuous commuication with the spacecraft will not be possible. The small gravitational attractions and poorly known ephemerides of the comet and asteroid, and the small, slow spacecraft orbit about the comet, pose significant new problems for orbit determination. Results of simulations studying the effectiveness of key data types, the accuracies of estimates, and prediction capabilities, are presented.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Orbit determination for the Mariner Mark II Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby mission - The orbiting phase


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1986-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :