Spacecraft Classification

Flyby Spacecraft

Flyby spacecraft conducted the initial reconnaissance phase of solar system exploration. They follow a continuous solar orbit or escape trajectory, never to be captured into a planetary orbit. They must have the capability of using their instruments to observe targets they pass. Ideally, their optical instruments can pan to compensate for the target's apparent motion in the instruments' field of view. They must downlink data to Earth, storing data onboard during the periods when their antennas are off Earthpoint. They must be able to survive long periods of interplanetary cruise. Flyby spacecraft may be designed to be stabilized in 3 axes using thrusters or reaction wheels, or to spin continuously for stabilization.
Our prime example of the flyby spacecraft category is the pair of Voyager spacecraft, which conducted encounters in the Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune systems. Click the Voyager image for details of the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Other examples of flyby spacecraft include:

Stardust Cometary Sample Return
Mariner 2 to Venus
Mariner 4 to Mars
Mariner 5 to Venus
Mariner 6 and Mariner 7 to Mars
Mariner 10 to Mercury
Pioneers 10 and 11 to Jupiter and Saturn
New Horizons Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission