NEAR SPACECRAFT AND INSTRUMENTATION

The NEAR spacecraft design is mechanically simple, and geared toward a short development and test time. Except for the initial deployment of the solar panels and protective instrument covers, the spacecraft has only one moveable mechanism. A distributed architecture allows parall el development and test of each subsystem, yielding an unusually short spacecraft integration and test period. Several innovative features o f the NEAR design include the first use of an X-band solid state power amplifier for an interplanetary mission, the first use of a hemispher ical resonator gyroscope in space, and extremely high-accuracy high vo ltage power supply control. The spacecraft design enables exciting, fi rst-rate science return with low cost, quick turnaround, and low techn ical risk.