QUOTE (The Messenger @ Jan 26 2006, 06:35 PM)
It is too bad we did not attach a ultrastable beacon to the third stage of NH. According to Emily, it is on its way out of the solar sytem as well, and a tumbling, who cares empty booster could have provided an interesting test of the Pioneer anomaly.
Actually, not so, I am sorry to say.
The Boeing third stage has all kinds of warts that make it a poor platform for doing
the PA experiment (it tumbles, it vents, it is complicated to radiation pressure model,
etc.) And beyond those tought issues, it would need it's own telecom system
and an RTG. Those would have meant removing more mass from NH than the entire
mass of our 7 experiments.
One key to NH's success in getting built was requirements control. Build and fly
something good, but recongize that better is the enemy of good enough.
-Alan