Page:Project Longshot - Advanced Design Program Project Report.pdf/47

Rh complications.

The static boom configuration, (see Fig. 3.3a) was designed to discard the front particle shield upon approach to the target system. The instrument booms will be firmly attached to the probe body and the only movable parts will be the individual instrument mountings. The major advantages of the static boom configuration are the lower number of parts expected to move after the long interstellar transit, and the lower final mass of the probe in-system. The major disadvantage of this design is the need for pyrotechnics to eject the shield after transit. All things considered, the static boom design was adopted, mostly its the greater reliability.