TAW@S1-A@sri-unix (09/08/82)
From: Tom Wadlow <TAW at S1-A> According to the San Francisco Chronicle (never a particularly reliable source), NASA is considering the use of a gravity assist in getting the Galileo probe to Jupiter. The reason for this possible change in plans is the cancellation of the wide-body Centaur upper stage. The interesting thing about the gravity whip maneuver is the choice of targets. Apparently, the plan is to make a high-speed flyby of your favorite planet and mine, namely Earth. This brings up the rather interesting question of what can be learned from an Earth flyby. It seems like it might be good practice for an interstellar probe looking for a habitable planet, but development of that kind of technology is unlikely in the time frame involved. Anybody got any ideas???