Editing CONTOUR (section)

==Spacecraft==
[[File:CONTOUR pre-launch.jpg|thumb|right|The ''CONTOUR'' spacecraft at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] in May 2002, being prepared for launch.]]

===Design and construction===
The ''CONTOUR'' spacecraft was constructed in-house at the [[Johns Hopkins University]] [[Applied Physics Laboratory]]. ''CONTOUR'' was shaped as an [[octagonal prism]], measuring at {{convert|2.1|m|ft}} tall and {{convert|1.8|m|ft}} long, had a total fueled mass of {{cvt|398|kg|lb}} at launch, not including the {{cvt|377|kg|lb}} mass of the [[Star 30]] [[Booster (rocketry)|booster]] it was attached to, during the launch phase of the mission.<ref name=nssdc/> The spacecraft was fitted with a {{cvt|25|cm|in}} [[whipple shield]], similar to the one used on ''[[Stardust (spacecraft)|Stardust]]'', on its leading face, designed with four layers of nextel fabric and seven layers of [[kevlar]].{{r|sfn-spacecraft|Ulivi_2012}} The shield was built to allow the spacecraft to withstand the respective 28.2 and 14&nbsp;km/s velocity flybys of comets Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann-3, where the spacecraft would be subjected to numerous particles ejecting from the [[comet nucleus|nuclei]] of the comets.<ref name=Osegueda_2001/> Although mission scientists predicted that the spacecraft would take no significant damage during the Encke and Schwassmann-Wachmann-3 encounters, the shield and its [[prototype]]s were tested vigorously during the construction of the spacecraft, including one where a shield prototype was shot at with surrogate [[nylon]] particles from a two stage [[light-gas gun]]. The results of the earlier tests allowed mission planners to determine a safe distance from which the ''CONTOUR'' would pass by comets targeted on the mission.<ref name=Osegueda_2001/> Three of the four [[scientific instrument]]s aboard the spacecraft were embedded within this shield.<ref name=sfn-spacecraft/>

===Spacecraft subsystems===

====Power====
Power for ''CONTOUR'' derives from [[solar cell]]s, which are mounted onto the spacecraft, decorating the sides and rear and generating up to 670 [[watt]]s of power. A [[nickel–cadmium battery]] designed to last up to nine [[ampere hour]]s was also installed aboard the spacecraft in the event that the solar cell system fails, or does not provide enough power for the spacecraft or its instruments to function.<ref name=sfn-spacecraft/>

====Communications and data====

====Propulsion and guidance====
Unlike many interplanetary missions, CONTOUR was not designed to be propelled beyond Earth orbit by the rocket that launched it, instead it exited Earth orbit using a STAR-30 solid rocket booster built into the spacecraft. This STAR-30 engine provided 1,922 meters per second of delta-v.<ref name="Osegueda_2001" /> The firing of this engine is the reason the CONTOUR spacecraft was destroyed. In addition, there were 16 hydrazine thrusters for normal propulsion and course corrections. These thrusters were divided into four clusters of four.<ref name="Osegueda_2001" />

===Scientific payload===
* '''CIDA'''
:The Comet Impact Dust Analyzer (CIDA)

* '''CRISP'''
:The CONTOUR Remote Imager/Spectrograph (CRISP)

* '''CAI'''
:The CONTOUR Aft Imager (CAI), also known as the CONTOUR Forward Imager (CFI)

* '''NGIMS'''
:Neutral Gas Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS)