Durwin from Sacramento: Is New Horizons spin-stabilized as was Pioneer 10/11? If not, what method is used?
Well, in fact, the New Horizons spacecraft is spin-stabilized, but it also has the capability to operate in a three-axis stabilized mode,
and we do all of this control with just the propulsion system onboard the spacecraft.
You know, as you know, it's a long cruise period from Jupiter to Pluto and during most of that period, the
spacecraft will be spin-stabilized and a lot of the subsystems will be shut down. We won't be operating the spacecraft much.
We're not collecting a lot of science except for the Student Dust Collector,
which remains on to help characterize the interplanetary dust environment.
But then, when we get ready for the main science mission, the encounter with Pluto, we go into a spin -- I'm sorry,
a three-axis stabilized mode, in order to point the instruments where they need to in order to collect the data they need.