Ah: Space Res. Vol. 19, No. 1. pp.

(1)127-(1)136, 1997
G 1997 COSPAR
Pergamon Printed in Great Britain. AU rights reserved
PII: SOZ73-1177(96)00125-l 0273-I 177/97 S17.00 + 0.00

ROSETTA MISSION DESIGN

Mclrtin Hechler
European Space Operations Centre, Robert-Bosch-Str. 5, 64,793Dannstadt,
Germany

ABSTRACT

The prime objective of the ROSETTA Comet Rendezvous Mission is in situ analysis of cometary matter.
Launched by ARIANE 5 in July 2003, the ROSETTA spacecraft will reach comet W-en in 2011
utilising one gravity assists at Mars and two gravity assists at Earth and also performing fast flybys at the
asteroids Shipka and Mimistrobell. It will enter into orbits around the comet and observe the nucleus and its
environment from the distance of a few tens of km through perihelion passage in 2013. During its stay with
the comet two scientific packages will be released by the spacecraft and will impact on the cometary surface
at selected landing sites to augment the remote observations of the nucleus by in situ surface measurements.
Near the comet, images of landmarks on the surface of the nucleus will be processed on the ground to derive
spacecraft position and comet rotational state knowledge. Based on this knowledge safe orbit and surface
package delivery strategies will be implemented. This paper gives a summary of the ROSETTA mission
design as reflected in the Science Team Report/l/ with some extensions on recent developments, mainly in
the area of mission analysis.
01997 COSPAR. All rights reserved

INTRODUCI’ION

Background

Following the definition of the ‘Planetary Cornerstone’ in the long term plan of Scientific Projects of ESA
in 1984 (Horizon 2000 /3/). ROSETTA had originally been conceived as a Comet Nucleus Sample Return
Mission. To this objective the mission concept had evolved from 1984 to 1991 through a series of scientific
and engineering efforts, since 1988 as a joint ESA/NASA project. Sample return mission and spacecraft
concepts, based on a Mariner Mark II carrier spacecraft, had reached a considerable level of sophistication
during a System Definition Study (1989 to 1990). ‘Fmancial and programmatic difficulties experienced
by NASA, the envisaged partner for the original mission concept, made it necessary to study alternative
concepts in early 1992’ /4/. Recent evolution in space experiment capabilities opened the possibility of
‘taking the laboratory to the comet’ rather than bringing a sample back to Earth, and still coming close to
the original scientific objective of the planetary cornerstone as stated in /3/. In parallel to the discussions in
the scientific community on a core European ROSETTA mission, engineering studies proved the feasibility
of a comet rendezvous, with a spacecraft design which uses solar arrays for power generation up to 5.2
AU, and is launched by ARIANE. The mission included an experiment package to be dropped by the
spacecraft onto the surface of the comet. In November 1993, this concept of ROSE’ITA has been selected
as ‘Cornerstone 3’ of the E8A Scientific Program. At the time of project selection the target comet was
Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, with a mission of shortest total duration, but on the limit of the mass budget
/l/. In the meantime the reference target has been changed (Wiien) to gain sufficient mass margin for
a second surface package. Studies on the system level and on key technologies are planned to re8ne and
consolidate mission and spacecraft design of ROSETTA before the start of phase B of the project in 1997.

(1)127
(1)128 M. Hedkr

Mission Objective

Cometary nuclei and - to a lesser extent - asteroids represent the most primitive solar-system bodies. They
are assumed to have kept a record of the physical and chemical processes that prevailed during the early
stages of the evolution of the solar system. Analysis of comets and asteroids as a whole and of cometary
material in particular, is expected to provide essential information on the provenance of meteorites and
interplanetary dust and to improve our current understanding of the formation of the solar system /4/.

To this objective the ROSE’ITA mission will /4/:

perform in-situ investigations of the chemical, mineralogical and isotopic composition, and the
physical properties of volatiles and refractories in the nucleus,

study the development of cometary activity, and its link with the characteristics of the nucleus (active
areas; mantled areas),

acquire complementary information on the diversity of asteroids from selected fly-bys.

Model Payload

The (straw-man) payload to be accommodated on the ROSETTA spacecraft consist of a set of 7 comple-
mentary instruments /4/:

The Remote Imaging System (RIS) consists of a narrow angle camera (NAC 3.4” x 3.4” field of view)
and a wide angle camera (WAC 17.2’ x 17.2’ field of view) both using a CCD array detector of
2000 x 2000 pixels, for remote sensing of the targets at visible wavelengths. The NAC will also be
used for spacecraft optical navigation in conjunction with the star and target uacker.

The Visible and Infra Red Spectral and Thermal Mapper (VIRSTM) uses an array detector (64 x 64
pixels) and 256 channels (from 3.5 blrn to 5 pm) for determining the mineralogical composition of
the targets and mapping the surface in terms of temperature.

The Neutral Mass and Ion Spectrometer (NGIMS) is composed of one single focused and one double
focused mass spectrometer for determination of the chemical, molecular and isotopic composition
and density of gas and ions.

The Dust Mass Anafyser (COMA) is basically a mass spectrometer. It measures the mass of ionised
molecules in a gas phase and provides elemental, isotopic and molecular composition.

The Scanning Electron Microprobe and Particle Anulyser (SEMPA) is using an electron microscope
to give images of co&Wed particles as small as 2.50nm. Spectroscopy of the X-rays from the sample
allows element detection and analysis for all elements above Na.

The Dust Production Rate and Velocity Analyser.

The Plasma Instrumentation Package to monitor the electron density and the solar wind flux.

The Surface Packages (45 kg each) have to be brought into contact with the cometary surface. Their
straw-man payloads /l/ contain the following instruments (a core on both packages):

The y Ray Spectrometer (GRS) is used for determination of the major elements of the target compo-
sition.

The CY Backscatter and X Ray Fluorescense Spectrometer (ABXRF) is used for the determination of
all major and most important minor elements of the target composition including Carbon, Nitrogen
and Oxygen.
 Rosena Mission Design (I)129

. TheNeutron Spectrometer (NS) is used for determination of the hydrogen concentration by monitoring
the neutron flux in two energy ranges: thermal and epithermal.

. The 111Situ Zntnging System (ISIS) consists of several monitoring and panoramic cameras used for in
situ studies by characterising the local surface morphology to determine surface texture at varying
resolutions (some mm per pixel).

. The Thermal Analyser I Evolved Gas Anaiyser (TAEGA) measures in a pyrolysis cell the thermal
behaviour of cometary material and the chemical nature of the evolved gases.

l The Permitivity Probe (PP) measures electric properties of the material close to the surface.

l Accelerometers study the mechanical strength in the cometary crust during landing.

l Sounding of the interior structure of the comet (if feasible).

The Surface Science Packages will be designed as integrated independent, self-supporting units. They will
be defined as PI instruments to provide for the most efficient integration of the different sensors.

MISSION OPPORTUNITIES

Reachable targets for a comet rendezvous are those short periodic comets with low inclination with respect
to the ecliptic plane and perihelion radii near 1 AU. The aphelion radii of these objects are typically around
5.2 AU. For a dry spacecraft mass of the order of more than 1000 kg and au ARIANE 5 launch, multiple
gravity assists at Earth, Venus and Mars are needed to reach the comets. Direct missions, or missions
using one Earth gravity assist (AVEGA) are not yielding sufficient mass. Table 1 gives a catalogue of me

Table 1. ROSETTA Mission Opportunities 2003-2004

No Rendezvous Asteroid Type Launch AlTiVal Mission AR 5 max. S/C

with Comet Flybys at Perihelion AV Perf. dry mass
(date) (date) (km/s) (kg) (kg)
1 Wirtanen Mimistrobell MEE 2003/01/20 2011/08/27 1.476 2990 1601
Shipka 2013/07/10
2 Schwassmann Brita ME 2003/07/l 8 2008/06/l 0 1.924 2426 1106
-Wachmann 3 201 i/10/12
3 Finlay 1990 OK MEE 2003/07/l 7 2013/09/05 1.837 2597 1224
2014/12/09
5 Wirtanen 1982 DX3 VEE 2003111103 2012/10/23 1.015 2698 1667
1983 AD 2013/07/10
6 Haneda Isis VEE 2003/l l/2 I 2013/06/23 1.465 2571 1372
-Campos 2016/l l/OS
7 Schwassmann 1990 TJ VE 2003/l l/29 2008/10/28 1.930 2352 1068
-Wachmann 3 201 l/10/12
8 Fiulay 1982 BB VEE 2004/05/l 1 2013/12/01 I .073 2651 1614
Lunacharsky 2014/12/09
9 Brooks 2 Cair VEE 2004/05,‘25 201 l/l l/23 1.740 2413 1170
1983 WM 20 I4/05/23

best found comet rendezvous mission opportunities for an ARIANE 5 launch, using two or three gravity
assists at Earth, Venus or Mars with a launch in 2003 and 2004. The stated ARIANE 5 launch mass is
reduced by a 10% margin and an allocation of 50 kg for the launch window, assuming delayed ignition of
the upper stage. The maximum possible spacecraft dry mass is calculated assuming a 75 kg launch adaptor,
(I)130 M. He&let

and incrementing the mission AV by 70 m/s for launch date variations, 160 m/s for cruise navigation, and
160 m/s for near comet orbit control. In addition 30 kg propellant for wheel offloading and attitude control
are accounted for. The specific impulse of the spacecraft motor has been assumed to be 312 s. In the system
definition study /2/ the required spacecraft dry mass was 1050 kg.
The asteroid flybys in the table are those which have been found to minimize the propellant requirements,
in some cases only one flyby opportunity could be constructed. Missions to duToit-Hartley and Neujmin 2
were removed from the table for scientific reasons and, recently, to accommodate a second surface package,
the set of mission opportunities was reduced to those three in bold print. For these missions the mass margin
also gives more flexibility to the spacecraft design. Comet Wirtanen which has been chosen as target for the
reference mission (Jan 2003 launch) and the fhst backup, also has been classified as the scientifically most
attractive of the reachable targets. Studies have been started on the the ephemeris determination of comet
Wirtanen based on the sparse set of observations usually collected for minor bodies, and taking into account
non-gravitational effects in conjunction with gravitational perturbations by Jupiter. A well organised high
quality astromenic campaign starting with aphelion observations in 1995 appear to be desirable.

MISSION SCENARIO
Reference Mission

Figure 1 shows the ecliptic projection of the reference mission interplanetary transfer to comet Wirtanen
(first launch opportunity in the launch window on 2003/l/14). The main mission events are marked, the
time ticks are every 100 days.

event day date

1 Launch 0 2003/01/14
2 Mars flyby 955 2005/08/26
3 Eai-drflyby 1047 2005/l l/26
4 Mimistrobell fb. 1340 2006/09/16
5 Earth flyby 1777 2007/l l/27
6 Shipka flyby 2097 2008/10/12
7 Wirtanen rdv 3145 201 l/08/25
8 Approach 3325 2012/02/21
9 Global mapping 3415 2012/05/21
A Close observ. 3485
B Surf. pack. del. 3510
C 3 AU from sun 3555 2012/10/08
D Surf. pack. del. 3600
E 2 AU from sun 3690 20 13/02/20
F Perihelion 3830 2013/07/10

Fig. 1. ROSETTA mission to W-en

The arrival at the comet is at a sun distance of 4.78 AU. This may not allow to operate the on board cameras,
because of the limited available power. Therefore the main orbit matching manoeuvre may be executed
before on board detection of the comet. For the same reason actual near comet approach operations may
be delayed until 4.2 AU sun distance is reached. Near comet operations (mapping) is planned not to start
before a communications distance of leas than 3.25 AU is reached, to have ground support from a second
ESA (15 m) station. At larger distant the mission will be operated using the 30 m antenna at Weilheim
(DLR) and, if available, the NASA/DSN.

Mission Phases

Interplanetary Cruise and planetary gravity assists. The ARIANE 5 launch from Kourou will first inject the
 Rosetta Mission Design (I)131

ROSETTA spacecraft into a 2 hours orbit around the Earth. The upper stage will be ignited with a 2 hours
delay, before perigee passage, and will inject the spacecraft to the required hyperbolic escape conditions
towards Mars. During the first few months after launch all spacecraft functions will be checked out, in
particular those autonomous functions which the spacecraft needs to survive over long time intervals in
the cruise phase without ground intervention and to reacquire ground control in failure cases. During this
initial phase the orbit will be determined and correction manoeuvres will remove the launcher dispersion
effect. After the checkout, it is planned to leave the spacecraft with a minimum of ground intervention for
extended periods, regular ground operations activities will only be resumed 3 months before to 3 months
after planetary and asteroid flybys, and before the arrival at the comet.
The Mars flyby after 955 days (almost two revolutions around the sun) will be at the lowest possible altitude
(set to 200 km) and a manoeuvre of about 140 m/s will be performed near the flyby pericentre. This
manocuvre eventually can be suppressed at the cost of additional deep space manoeuvres and with a loss
in the mission performance. Orbit correction manocuvreS required before and after the Mars flyby are
estimated as 25 m/s in total (99-percentile). For the reference mission the targeting accuracy at Mars is
influenced by the fact that the spacecraft will be seen at near zero declination from the Earth which will
deteriorate the accuracy of conventional Earth based tracking. With range and Doppler from the 15 m
stations only, the targeting error is estimated to be about 100 km (3a). Therefore the flyby pericentre has
been chosen 100 km above the Mars atmosphere. With additional tracking capabilities (e.g. the DSN or
VLBI or differential tracking with a spacecraft in orbit around Mars) the targeting could be improved. Only
90 days after the Mars flyby the spacecraft will return to the Earth for a first time. The flyby altitude will be
over 3000 km and the navigation will be uncritical because of the high precision of range and Doppler near
the Earth. A manoeuvre of 60 m/s will be performed at the flyby. The second Earth flyby after another two
years (4 years from launch) has a pericentre altitude of about 3000 km. In both cases orbit corrections of up
to 10 m/s are foreseen.
Asteroid flybys. Between the two Earth gravity assists the spacecraft will pass through the asteroid main
belt. At this occasion a first asteroid flyby with 3840 Mimistrobell was found to be most favourable in terms
of propellant consumption. The relative velocity will be 6.1 km/s and the sun-asteroid-spacecraft angle
during approach will be 58”. A second asteroid flyby can be accomplished with 2530 Shipka on the way out
to the comet. The flyby velocity will be 13.2 km/s and the illumination angle 23”. Detection of the asteroid
by the spacecraft narrow angle camera is expected about 8 days before the flyby. After detection the images
can be used for optical navigation, orbit correction manoeuvres can be scheduled to improve the targeting
accuracy to a level of about 20 km, from the initial ephemeris error of ground bases astrometry which is
expected to be a few 100 km. The flyby point is chosen such that the asteroid to sun line is in the relative
orbit plane. The nominal flyby distance has been chosen at least N 500 km sunward, which is the limit of
the turning rate for the viewing instruments mounted on the spacecraft body. The payload will be operated
within 500 000 km distance from the asteroid. About one day after the flybys, a major orbit manoeuvre will
re-target the spacecraft to the Earth or the comet respectively.
Comet approach. The orbit manoeuvre (1140 m/s) which puts the spacecraft into rendezvous conditions
with the comet except for a residual drift rate (- 100 m/s) will be performed before comet detection by the
spacecraft camera, using ground astrometry knowledge of the comet ephemeris only. At this manoeuvre the
sun distance will be 4.78 AU and the Earth distance will be 4.33 AU for the reference mission. The comet
distance will be of the order of 5 x lo7 km. The spacecraft will drift towards the comet until it reaches a
sun and a communications distance which allows comet detection operations. The initial ageting of this
drift will be to a point 100 000 km from the comet towards the sun. Figure 2 explains the approach strategy.
Actual approach operations is planned to start at a distance of 500 000 km from the comet at which the high
resolution camera can be expected to detect the nucleus.
The approach manoeuvre sequace will sequentially reduce the relative velocity to finally 10 m/s, within 90
days from the start of the approach. Each manoeuvre which reduces the relative velocity will also move the
targeting point Closer to the nuCleUS.in accordance with the improved relative orbit knowledge. At loo0 km
distance the targeting bias will be 100 km. Image processing on the ground will derive spacecraft to comet
directions in the inertial reference frame, using the fixed stars in the image background, which will improve
the spacecraft state estimate relative to the comet, or better the comet ephemeris relative to the spawaft.
(1)132 M. Hechler

A coarse estimation of comet size, shape and kinematics will be performed. The payload will be checked
out. Below 50 cometary radii from the nucleus (mean nucleus radii of 1 to 5 km are expected) an estimate
of the comet gravity constant and a refinement of shape and kinematics knowledge will be derived using
optical observations of landmarks on the comet.

Fig. 2. Comet approach Fig. 3. Near comet orbits

Near comet orbits (mapping and close observations). Rgure 3 indicates the different phases from approach
to surface package delivery. First, mapping strategies must be constructed to cover the nucleus surface
globally at a prescribed resolution (2000 pixel across), and later to map selected areas with a high resolution,
for the full range of possible gravitational and kinematic parameters (nucleus radius 1 - 5 km, density
0.2 -1.5 g/cm3. rotation period 3 hours to CQ free kinematic body motion - tumbling or regular spin).
These comet properties will be largely unknown before arrival, only some knowledge on size and spin rate
might be derived by sophisticated astronomical observations. This means the orbit strategies can not be
fixed beforehand, they will be decided during the late approach phase. In spite of the low gravity (surface
gravity 5 x 10e6 to 2 x lo-* Earth-g) and the possibility of a very irregular shape of the nucleus (e.g. like
Halley), rather stable spacecraft orbits around the nucleus are well possible. The sphere of influence of the
comet, in which the sun attraction can be treated as a perturbation, will have a size from 7 to 20 nuclus radii
(7 - 100 km) for above values of the mean radius and the density. The effects of the non-spherical shape
of the gravity field will be of minor influence for distances above a few cometary radii. Therefore orbit
strategies near the comet can be constructed using Kepler orbit approximations, they have then to be verified
by simulations including all gravitational and non-gravitational (solar radiation pressure, comet outgasing)
details.
Mapping will be done from eccentric orbits around the comet, with orbit parameters depending on comet
gravity and spin properties, Usually the orbit plane will be chosen to contain the comet spin axis and
the comet sun line. The period of the mapping orbits will be of the order of a few days. In many cases,
only one half revolution will be necessary, starting near one pole, to produce a surface map by adjacent
east-west coverage bands due to the comet rotation. Including the transfer to the mapping, and some time for
navigation, in total 70 days have been allocated for the global characterisation. This will allow to achieve an
almost complete coverage of the illuminated surface alao in extreme cases of small, slowly rotating comets.
From the mapping, comet shape and surface properties (physiography, roughness) will be determined, and
a detailed kinematic and gravitational model using optical landmark observations will be derived. Areas
 Rosetta Mission Design (1)133

on the surface will be selected for close observations. These close observations will then be done from a
sequence of eccentric orbits which pass over up to five selected sites at altitudes below 1 nucleus radius. At
least two orbit manoeuvres will be necessary per fly-over. All remote observations payload will be operated
above the candidate sites (500 m x 500 m). 25 days have been allocated for close observations. Using the
payload data, a decision will be taken to which site the first surface package will be delivered.
Near comet navigation. Important for the choice of the orbits will be the accuracy at which these orbits
can be predicted, to guarantee spacecraft safety. The orbit determination near the comet will be primarily
based on observations of natural landmarks on the surface by the wide angle target tracker. Together with
the range and Doppler measurements from Earth, this will allow to simultaneously estimate 19 dynamical
state variables, namely the spacecraft position and velocity relative to me comet (6 parameters), and comet
position and velocity relative to the sun (6 parameters), the quaternions to define the axes of the comet
nucleus relative to inertial (ecliptic) axes (4 parameters), and angular rates of the nucleus in body axes (3
parameters). In addition, for a typical case using five landmarks, there are 19 constants to be estimated,
which are equivalent to the principal gravitational constant of the comet and the elements of the inertia
matrix (7 constants related to the third order harmonics of the gravity field), and the positional coordinates
of the landmarks (12 constants).
A variety of parametric simulations (/5/, /@) have been performed to prove the feasibility of the near comet
orbit strategies and the related landmark navigation process, for different phases of the near comet sequence,
comparing theoretical standard deviations produced by covariance analysis with simulated errors, and for
the whole range of assumptions on the dynamic and kinematic properties of the cometary nucleus, its size
and shape and its orientation in space. Starting from approach, excellent improvement of the spacecraft
orbit relative to the comet is obtained from the optical measurements. Fmally a (predicted) accuracy of less
than 200 m (30) in spacecraft position relative to the centre of gravity of the comet can be reached at the
pericentres during the close observation orbits.
Surface package delivery and relay. The surface package delivery dynamics and the related navigation
aspects currently are studied /8/, in parallel to the development of the surface package design. The nominal
scenkio assumes that the surface package will be dynamically passive during its descent. It will be
spun up by a separation spring eject device, and the spin axis will be aligned to the separation AV. The
‘mother’-spacecraft orbits before and after separation are required to be safe.

AV separation velocity

h, pericentre of spacecraft orbit

T flight time of probe

V impact velocity

5 impact angle

(Y angle of attack

P surface slope

Rg. 4. Surface package delivery

The spacecraftposition knowledge at pericentre has been estimated to be in the order of a few 100 m, therefore
the pericentre altitude h, has been chosen at 1 km. The separation conditions have been constrained by the
(1)134 M. Hechler

requirement that the spin axis should be aligned as close as possible to the surface normal at impact (zero
angle of attack cw)allowing some unknown variation of the surface slope p, induced by the landing error.
This was necessary to ease the probe damping and rebound design. In addition the spacecraft and probe
orbits were both required to be elliptic. For the spacecraft this means that before probe separation several
revolutions around the comet can be flown without manoeuvres, which is expected to lead to a very precise
orbit knowledge from the landmark navigation, and thus to a good probe delivery accuracy. For the probe it
means that in case of failures in the impact damping, the probe will not leave the cometary gravity field, and
will eventually come to rest on the surface. The choice of the impact point was assumed not be restricted
by the engineering, this means landing at the pole or the equator was to be possible. The separation spring
energy (AV) can be chosen, but will have to be fixed before launch. Also the flight time of the probe from
separation to impact (T < 10 hours) and the impact velocity (V < 2 m/s) will be constrained by the probe
design. A vertical impact (velocity along surface normal, impact angle 7 = 90”) would be desirable, but
cannot be achieved in all cases, imposing ah above conditions.

For a spring sizing for 0.3 m/s separation velocity, the spacecraft orbit before separation, and the time and
direction of the surface package separation can be chosen such all above conditions are satisfied. A strategy
has been constructed in which the package arrives at the surface with a spin axis orientation along the
surface normal and with minimum vertical and horizontal (maximum impact angle) velocity components.
Figure 5 shows the spacecraft and probe orbits for the extreme cases of comet size and density. The very
small spring sizing is induced by the rebound escape constraint for the minimum gravity comet. If impact
damping can be ascertained, higher separation velocities are possible, which then shorten the descent flight
time T for the large comet cases, and thus improve the landing accuracy. The error analysis for the surface
package delivery is ongoing /8/. After probe separation, the spacecraft is manoeuvred to an orbit which is
best suited to receive the data transmitted from the surface package and to relay them to Earth. Originally
only a few hours of surface package operations were foreseen. The scientific requirements now seem to
evolve to a surface package operations time of at least 3 to 5 (Earth-)days.
BIG COMET SMALL COMET

_/
,’

-5 5

Fig. 5. Extreme surface package delivery orbits

Alternative scenarios with an additional spacecraft manoeuvre before the surface probe separation, which
allows to align the impact velocity to the surface normal, and scenarios with special separation devices
which decouple the separation direction from the spin axis direction have been studied as well (ref. /7/I.
The second surface package is assumed to be delivered a few months after the first, following similar
strategies, and possibly using scientific information from the fist package for site selection.
Extended monitoring (through perihelion). After the end of the activities related to the surface package
science, the spacecraft will spend at least 8 months in orbit around the comet until after perihelion passage.
The science goals of this phase are to monitor the nucleus (in particular active regions), dust and gas jets,
 Rosena Mission Design (1)135

and to analyse dust, gas and plasma in the inner coma from the onset to peak activity. Spacccmft orbits will
be selected according to these scientific goals and spacecraft safety considerations. Mission planning wiIl
therefore depend on the result of previous observations, such as the activity pattern of the comet.

SPACECRAFT

The system study ROSE’ITA spacecraft design/2/ has derived from a three-axis stabilised communica-
tions spacecraft. The main configurarion features, the 40ONbiliquid engine, tanks size. solar array mounting
and basic structure, of such a ‘standard’ bus were surprisingly well suited for the deep space mission. To
cope with the large variations in sun and Earth distance and pointing directions which the spacecraft has
to pass before arriving at the comet and iu the orbit around the comet_ the ROSETTA spacecraft uses solar
arrays with a newly developed type of Low Intensity Low Temperature (LILT) &is with the usual one
degree of freedom mounting in hvo wings.

Fig. 6. System study spacecraft configuration

The 2 m high gain antenna dish is mounted on a two degrees of freedom mechanism. All payload and the
navigation equipment (cameras, star sensors, gyros, accelerometers) are body fixed. This design allows
to keep the sun pointing of the arrays and the Earth pointing of the antenna through alI mission events
which require pointing, namely main engine manoeuvres, observations of objects by the payload (asteroids.
landmarks on comet surface), and surface package separation. The conEguration is shown in figure 6. The
thermal design uses external ML1 insulation, radiators and electric heaters located where required. The
extreme variations of input power from the solar arrays are handled by a special power point management.
Attitude control will use 4N bihquid thrusters, reaction wheels, gyros and star and comet target tracking
sensors, Communication will use an S-band command uplink and an X-band downhnk A medium gain
antenna and two body mounted low gain antennae wiII support communications during the initial mission
phase, during the Earth flybys and for emergency commanding. Communications with the surface package
will be by means of omnidirectional VHF antennae. In the Dam Handlingsystem design particular attention
has been given to the necessityof allowing autonomous spacecraft functioning also in cases without active
ground intervention,for extended periods. The ground activity during these mission phases can be reduced
to monitoring of the spacecraft health every two to three weeks. Special on board features for autonomous
reconfiguration at the occurrace of a faihue during the period without contact and reacquisition of ground
control wilI be implemented. Also for mission periods under ground control the data handling system will
provide an On Board Master Schedule function. This means a sequence of commands can be stored on
board and sequentialIy modified and extended, for time tagged execution.
(1)136 M. Hechler

CURRENT STATUS AND EVOLUTION OF MISSION DESIGN

Actual spacecraft system development work, phase B of the project, will start in 1997. Preparations for
phase B have been started, the selection of the payload, started with the issue of the Announcement of
Opportunity, has to be completed before the phase B contract can be specified. Also the concepts of the
surface packages, with respect to engineering and programmatic aspects, must be settled.
During the time before phase B, several key items of the mission will be studied in depth in the frame of
the Technological Research Program (TRP) and also in further system level studies. With the evolution
of the spacecraft design, the mission design will have to be adapted. E.g. the choice of the navigation
camera systems, which is one of those item of detailed studies, will affect the near comet strategies. Also
modifications in the spacecraft configuration, e.g. the mounting mechanisms of solar arrays and high gain
antenna. may have an impact on the mission concepts. The near comet orbit planning and navigation will
be further refhred in the frame of a TRP study. In particular the surface package delivery concepts will be
updated in accordance with the surface package design concepts which are expected to be final&d in this
year.
The interplanetary orbit design, and consequently the catalogue of mission opportunities, may be primarily
affected by an evolution of the ARIANE 5 performance by 2003, and the evolution of the spacecraft mass.
A cycle of mission reoptimisations can be expected in the phase before the spacecraft design reaches a final
stage of definition. E. g. it may be possible to suppress the manoeuvres planned during the planetary flyby
phases at the cost of an increase in the total AV. Or it may also be desirable to advance the arrival date at the
comet in some cases, using additional propellant allocation. This would allow to extend the period of near
comet operations with modifications of the solar array and assuming availability of the NASA/DSN. Major
work on the mission opportunities is planned for the next years. This in particular is intended to provide
a complete list of asteroid flyby combinations for each of the three comet rendezvous missions. Based on
this list ground observations of potential targets can be initiated and the targets can be selected on scientific
reasons. It also cannot be excluded that other feasible missions, possibly to other comets, will still be found.

REFERENCJXS

1. ROSETTA Comet Rendezvous Mission, BSA SCI(93)7, Sept. 93

2. ROSETTA System Definition Study Rider 2, Matra Marconi Space, Contract Report CNSR/PP/128.93,
August 1993

Horizon 2000, ESA SP-1070, Dec. 1984

G. Schwehm, M. Hechler, ROSETTA - ‘BSA’s Planetary Cornetstone Mission, ESA Bulletin, Feb. 1994

M. Noton, Orbit Strategies and Navigation Near a Comet, ESA Journal, Vol l&3,1992, pp. 349-362

E. Gonzalez-Laguna, ROSETTA Navigation Near a Comet, MAS Working Paper No. 344, Sept. 1993,
ESOC

7. V.V.Ivashkin, Comet Surface Science Package Delivery Dynamics, BSOC Contract 8 165/89/D/IM, Fmal
Report, GMVSA 2031/94, Madrid, June 1994

8. E. Gonzalez-Laguna, ROSETTA Surface Science Station Delivery Dynamics and Navigation,

MAS Working Paper No. 35 1, ESOC, to appear