So something based around the reliable and relative available Delta II made sense.
As to the program's history, there are certainly some interesting aspects. Lunar Prospector, the first Discovery mission, is certainly one.
Quote from: Blackstar on 12/03/2011 03:19 amAs to the program's history, there are certainly some interesting aspects. Lunar Prospector, the first Discovery mission, is certainly one. The PI was a real A-hole is what I take from reading his book
Someone mentioned Goddards' Planetary Explorer proposal. There is a fairly good (though not particularly detailed) write-up of this in chapter 2 of Pioneering Venus.The authors also discuss how it migrated from Goddard to Ames.
The PI was a real A-hole is what I take from reading his bookI once tried to read that book, but couldn't get much past 300 pages (so just over a quarter of its 1200 pages). It was one of the strangest books I've ever (tried to) read. And yes, it's easy to reach the same conclusion as Jim.
Lunar Prospector was managed out of NASA Ames Research Center with the prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The Principal Investigator for the mission was Dr. Alan Binder. His personal account of the mission Against all Odds is highly critical of the bureaucracy of NASA overall, and of its contractors.[2]
QuoteLunar Prospector was managed out of NASA Ames Research Center with the prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The Principal Investigator for the mission was Dr. Alan Binder. His personal account of the mission Against all Odds is highly critical of the bureaucracy of NASA overall, and of its contractors.[2] (forgot the last sentence, pure wikipedia - biased and silly.)
QuoteI assumed that it sort of happened over time, with decisions on individual programs as they came along--or as a side effect to not having sufficient money to do multiple projects at multiple centers.I found more elements. There was an earlier atempt at Planetary Observers / Discovery, long before 1980. Goddard did an atempt at low cost probes based on its Explorers satellites circa 1971. Being overloaded with satellite work they passed the projects to Ames, and that become another Pioneer - Pioneer Venus, and did not went farther than that one. What surprised me is how discretely did Ames got out of the planetary probe business. The JPL de facto monopoly provoked little reactions - even Ames do not appear to have fought the decision bitterly. They were aparently given helicopter research, plenty of it, as a compensation, and that was it.
I assumed that it sort of happened over time, with decisions on individual programs as they came along--or as a side effect to not having sufficient money to do multiple projects at multiple centers.
Goddard did an atempt at low cost probes based on its Explorers satellites circa 1971. Being overloaded with satellite work they passed the projects to Ames, and that become another Pioneer - Pioneer Venus, and did not went farther than that one.