DEEP SPACE COMMUNICATIONS A COLLECTION OF SOME OF THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY’S SPACE MISSIONS SELECTED TO REPRESENT THE PLANETARY COMMUNICATIONS DESIGNS FOR A PROGRESSION OF VARIOUS TYPES OF MISSIONS The text uses a case study approach to show the communications link performance resulting from the planetary communications design developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This is accomplished through the description of the design and performance of six representative planetary missions. These six cases illustrate progression through time of the communications system’s capabilities and performance from 1970s technology to the most recent missions. The six missions discussed in this book span the Voyager for fly-bys in the 1970s, Galileo for orbiters in the 1980s, Deep Space 1 for the 1990s, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) for planetary orbiters, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) for planetary rovers in the 2000s, and the MSL rover in the 2010s. Deep Space Communications: Provides an overview of the Deep Space Network and its capabilities Examines case studies to illustrate the progression of system design and performance from mission to mission and provides a broad overview of the mission systems described Discusses actual flight mission telecommunications performance of each system Deep Space Communications serves as a reference for scientists and engineers interested in communications systems for deep-space telecommunications link analysis and design control.

Radiometric Tracking Techniques for Deep-Space Navigation focuses on a broad array of technologies and concepts developed over the last four decades to support radio navigation on interplanetary spacecraft. In addition to an overview of Earth-based radio navigation techniques, the book includes a simplified conceptual presentation of each radiometric measurement type, its information content, and the expected measeurement accuracy. The methods described for both aquiring and calibrating radiometric measurements also provide a robust system to support guidance and navigation for future robotic space exploration.

A valuable reference for students and professionals in the field of deep space navigation Drawing on fundamental principles and practices developed during decades of deep space exploration at the California Institute of Technology’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), this book documents the formation of program Regres of JPL’s Orbit Determination Program (ODP). Program Regres calculates the computed values of observed quantities (e.g., Doppler and range observables) obtained at the tracking stations of the Deep Space Network, and also calculates media corrections for the computed values of the observable and partial derivatives of the computed values of the observables with respect to the solve-for-parameter vector-q. The ODP or any other program which uses its formulation can be used to navigate a spacecraft anywhere in the solar system. A publication of the JPL Deep Space Communications and Navigation System Center of Excellence (DESCANSO), Formulation for Observed and Computed Values of Deep Space Network Data Types for Navigation is an invaluable resource for graduate students of celestial mechanics or astrodynamics because it: features the expertise of today’s top scientists places the entire program Regres formulation in an easy-to-access resource describes technology which will be used in the next generation of navigation software currently under development The Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series is authored by scientists and engineers with extensive experience in astronautics, communications, and related fields. It lays the foundation for innovation in the areas of deep space navigation and communications by conveying state-of-the-art knowledge in key technologies.