It also runs the advanced “autonomy” algorithms that allow the spacecraft to check the status of each system and, if necessary, correct any problems, switch to backup systems or contact operators on Earth for help.įor data storage, New Horizons carries two low-power solid-state recorders (one backup) that can hold up to 8 gigabytes each. The command and data handling system – a radiation-hardened 12-megahertz Mongoose V processor guided by intricate flight software – is the spacecraft’s “brain.” The processor distributes operating commands to each subsystem, collects and processes instrument data, and sequences information sent back to Earth. To keep it perfectly balanced for spinning operations, the spacecraft was weighed and then balanced with additional weights just before mounting on the launch vehicle. Keeping mass down, the panels surrounding the central cylinder feature an aluminum honeycomb core with ultra-thin aluminum face sheets (about as thick as two pieces of paper). It also served as the payload adapter fitting that connected the spacecraft to the launch vehicle. New Horizons' primary structure includes an aluminum central cylinder that supports the spacecraft body panels, supports the interface between the spacecraft and its RTG power source, and houses the propellant tank. The spacecraft's high-gain antenna dish is linked to advanced electronics and shaped to receive even the faintest radio signals from home - a necessity when the mission's main target is more than 3 billion miles from Earth and light itself takes more than four and a half hours to go from Earth to the spacecraft. The spacecraft navigates using onboard gyros, star trackers and Sun sensors. Small thrusters in the propulsion system handle pointing, spinning and course corrections. New Horizons has operated mostly in a spin-stabilized mode while cruising between planets, and also in a three-axis “pointing” mode that allows for pointing or scanning instruments during calibrations and planetary encounters (like the Jupiter flyby and, of course, at Pluto). It does have backup devices for all major electronics, its star-tracking navigation cameras and data recorders. Aside from protective covers on five instruments that were opened shortly after launch, and one small protective cover opened after the Jupiter encounter, New Horizons uses no deployable mechanisms or scanning platforms. New Horizons' "thermos bottle" design retains heat and keeps the spacecraft operating at room temperature without large heaters. ![]() When the spacecraft was in hibernation through long stretches of its voyage, its computer was programmed to monitor its systems and report its status back to Earth with a specially coded, low-energy beacon signal. Smaller antennas provide backup communications. During normal operations, the spacecraft communicates with Earth through its 2.1-meter (83-inch) wide high-gain antenna. The instruments send data to the two onboard solid-state memory banks, where data are recorded before later playback to Earth. On average, each of the seven science instruments uses between 2 and 10 watts - about the power of a night light - when turned on. Designed to operate on a limited power source - a single radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) - New Horizons needs less power than a pair of 100-watt light bulbs to perform its mission. ![]() Fully fueled, the agile, piano-sized probe weighed 478 kilograms (1,054 pounds) at launch. The New Horizons science payload was developed under direction of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), with instrument contributions from SwRI, APL, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, the University of Colorado, Stanford University and Ball Aerospace Corporation. Source: NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)ĭesigned and integrated at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland - with contributions from companies and institutions in the United States and abroad - the New Horizons spacecraft is a robust, lightweight observatory that has withstood the long, difficult journey from the launch pad on Earth to the solar system's coldest, darkest frontiers. A 3D model of NASA's New Horizons, a mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.
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