Laeser, Richard P. | Search NASA

NASA NTRS1986

Engineering Voyager 2's encounter with Uranus

Changes made by radio control from the ground in the Voyager 2 spacecraft as it approached Uranus are described. Reduced power required that subsystems and heaters had to be switched on and off in carefully synchronized fashion. Low light levels required increased exposure times, so the jiggling of the spacecraft had to be minimized. Coding changes were made and image data were compressed to cope with the reduced bit rate at larger distances. Successful efforts to cope with failures in the primary radio receiver and in the computer instructions for image compression are described, as are changes made on the ground in the spacecraft navigation.

Laeser, Richard P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

The engineering of the Voyager 2 mission to Uranus

The engineers of the Voyager 2 mission to Uranus had to deal with dwindling consumables, navigational challenges unique to the Uranian system, low light-level imaging, increasing communications problems, and failed equipment onboard the spacecraft, each of which could affect the success of the mission. The techniques for coping with each of these factors are discussed in detail. For instance, steadying of the spacecraft, achieved by cancelling the momentum change imparted to it by high-rate operations of the digital tape recorder, enhanced the data quality from several instruments, particularly the cameras. A careful power management scheme made it possible to conduct a successful radio occultation experiment which yielded detailed information on the Uranian atmospheric structure, including temperature and composition. A unique picture of the back-lit ring system was obtained.

Laeser, Richard P.↗