The RF telecommunications system for the New Horizons mission to Pluto

Abstract

This work describes the design and development of the RF telecommunications system for the New Horizons mission, NASA's planned mission to Pluto. The system includes an advanced, low-power digital receiver, and a card-based transceiver implemented within an integrated electronics module. An ultrastable oscillator (USO) provides the precision frequency reference necessary for the uplink radio science experiment. The 2.1 meter high gain antenna is the primary communications antenna, with medium gain and low gain antennas used for wider beamwidths during early operations, cruise-phase and sun-pointing mission phases. The paper will discuss the salient aspects of the system design, including design drivers from mission operations, science, and spacecraft considerations. It will also detail individual subsystems1 performance, operational modes (including beacon mode operation), and navigation technology, including the first deep-space flight implementation of regenerative ranging.