This book features eight remarkable spacecraft that ventured to the outer planetsJupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptuneand the dwarf planet Pluto. It delves into the complex engineering behind each mission, detailing the spacecraft systems and the sophisticated scientific instruments they carried.

Tracing the journey of outer planet exploration, the book narrates the evolution of spacecraft technology that helped unveil the long-sought secrets of these distant worlds. The innovative designs reflect the dedication and brilliance of the engineers and scientists who worked with the best technology available at the time. Clever workarounds devised in response to mission-critical failures serve as powerful examples of human ingenuity and perseverance.

The book also presents key scientific discoveries from each mission, along with stunning visuals, offering an engaging overview of their achievements. It serves as a companion to Spacecraft that Explored the Inner Planets: Venus and Mercury , published by Springer in 2023.

Comprehensive description of spacecraft systems and scientific instruments on several spacecraft types Narrates stories of evolution of sophisticated spacecraft Sketches the efforts of many talented men and women in the development of spacecraft that explored outer planets

Autorentext

The author draws on over 50 years' experience on aircraft and spacecraft systems to tell the story of these planetary spacecraft. He was technical lead for the landing radars for the Surveyor and Apollo lunar landers and he performed analysis and system design for the radars for the Viking spacecraft and the Space Shuttle. He was Technical Director at the Teledyne Ryan Company and personally led efforts to establish new product lines in fiber optics, radar altimeters, and missile detection radars. At Litton Technologies, he was systems engineer for a new helmet mounted display for helicopter gunships. He served 3 years as Electronics Officer in the U.S. Navy.

His working experience is augmented by master's degrees in electrical engineering, physics, and business administration.

Klappentext

This book describes eight spacecraft that among them explored the outer planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto. The descriptions include intricacies and technical detail of spacecraft systems and science instruments aboard each spacecraft. The book traces history of exploration of the outer planets as well as the evolution of sophisticated spacecraft that unveiled long-sought secrets of the far-distant planets. The ingenious spacecraft reflected the best efforts of talented people working with best available technology of the day. Workarounds devised to achieve success after a critical spacecraft failure was testament to human ingenuity and perseverance. The key results of exploration by each spacecraft are given, including many spectacular photographs.

The book is a follow-on to my book " Spacecraft that Explored the Inner Planets: Venus and Mercury " that was published by Springer in 2023.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: The Planets of the Sun.- Chapter 2: Spacecraft that Explored the Outer Planets.- Chapter 3: Launch Vehicles for Spacecraft to Outer Planets.- Chapter 4: Pioneer 10 & 11 Spacecraft.- Chapter 5: Voyager 1 & 2 Spacecraft.- Chapter 6: Cassini-Huygens Spacecraft.- Chapter 7: Galileo Spacecraft.- Chapter 8: New Horizons Spacecraft.- Chapter 9: Juno Spacecraft.- Chapter 10: Future Missions.