NASA NTRS · 19920073233
Exploration of Pluto
Abstract
Two NASA-sponsored cost-constrained mission implementations for the exploration of Pluto are described. One is the Pluto Fast Flyby (PFF) mission, which utilizes an 83 kg spacecraft to be launched in 1998 aboard a Titan IV (Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade)/Centaur) for an about 7-year-long direct trajectory to Pluto, which will carry an integrated CCD-imaging/UV spectrometer, with a possible integrated IR spectrometer. The other is the Pluto-350 spacecraft, weighing about 316 kg, which will carry a broader instrument set, greater redundancy, and which will require greater than 11 year flight time. Pluto-350 will be launched in 2001 aboard a Delta or Atlas, toward earth and Jupiter swingbys to provide the energy to reach Pluto.
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Staehle, Robert L., Abraham, Douglas S., Carraway, John B., Esposito, Paul J., Salvo, Christopher G., Terrile, Richard J., Wallace, Richard A., Weinstein, Stacy S., Hansen, Elaine. 1992-08-01. Exploration of Pluto. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19920073233
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