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Durwin from Sacramento: Is New Horizons spin-stabilized as was Pioneer 10/11? If not, what method is used?

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Well, in fact, the New Horizons spacecraft is spin-stabilized, but it also has the capability to operate in a three-axis stabilized mode,

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and we do all of this control with just the propulsion system onboard the spacecraft.

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You know, as you know, it's a long cruise period from Jupiter to Pluto and during most of that period, the

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spacecraft will be spin-stabilized and a lot of the subsystems will be shut down. We won't be operating the spacecraft much.

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We're not collecting a lot of science except for the Student Dust Collector,

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which remains on to help characterize the interplanetary dust environment.

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But then, when we get ready for the main science mission, the encounter with Pluto, we go into a spin -- I'm sorry,

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a three-axis stabilized mode, in order to point the instruments where they need to in order to collect the data they need.

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