26. Interplanetary Operations

Interplanetary mission operations are characterized by extreme variability, high complexity and high vulnerability. Missions that simply fly-by their target object in the solar system, those that enter in orbit around a planet or minor body and those that attempt a landing on it have increasing levels of operations complexity. Typical challenges of interplanetary flight that impact the operations are the long signal propagation delays, the high variability of operations workload, from quiet cruise to time-critical orbit insertion phases, the scarce availability of electrical energy and communications bandwidth. Special operations like asteroids fly-by, planet orbit insertion or landing on the surface present unique operational challenges that require dedicated tools, procedures and training.