Aug 21 1979
From The Space Library
August 21-24: At a NASA Headquarters press conference on the Pioneer 11 encounter with Saturn expected about September 1, reporters heard predictions of the findings from Dr. Thomas A. Mutch, associate administrator for space science; Fred D. Kochendorfer, program manager for Pioneer Saturn; and Dr. John Wolfe of ARC, project scientist for Pioneer Saturn. A self-styled space exploration buff, Mutch recalled his experience with Viking lander imaging and the delight of a first look at pictures relayed from a planetary mission. Kochendorfer described the Pioneer spacecraft and instruments, explaining how power was obtained at great distances for guidance and transmission, and lauding the Deep Space Network's remarkable support in getting "absolutely the most we can wring out of this [communications] system." Wolfe said that all the experimenters who worked on the mission in 1969 were still alive, and only one had been changed (the principal investigator for infrared, who had taken a sabbatical). He called the media coverage of the Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 Jupiter encounters in 1973 and 1974 "outstanding." A plaque in the National Air and Space Museum described Pioneer as "a spacecraft designed to fly by the planets Jupiter and Saturn"-Wolfe congratulated the museum on its forecast. He enumerated the options for imaging, explaining how the Pioneer would approach Saturn and its moons and how the information returned would assist the upcoming Voyager encounters.
A NASA release August 21 said controllers at ARC had ordered a "left turn" for Pioneer 11 to permit one-at-a-time activation of its onboard instruments. Images of Saturn's rings from 16 million kilometers looked no larger than a penny; by August 26, investigators expected them to be better than any taken from Earth and 20 times better by September 1. (NASA Release 79-108 [press kit], 79-109; ARC Release 79-37; text, press conf, Aug 21/79)
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