Spacecraft Classification

Orbiter Spacecraft

Galileo Spacecraft
GALILEO
A spacecraft designed to travel to a distant planet and enter into orbit about it, must carry a substantial propulsive capability to decelerate it at the right moment, to achieve orbit insertion. It has to be designed to live with the fact that solar occultations will occur, wherein the planet shadows the spacecraft, cutting off any solar panels' production of electrical power and subjecting the vehicle to extreme thermal variation. Earth occultations will also occur, cutting off uplink and downlink communications with Earth. Orbiter spacecraft are carrying out the second phase of solar system exploration, following up the initial reconnaissance with in-depth study of each of the planets. The extensive list includes Magellan, Galileo, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Cassini, and Messenger.
Our prime example of the orbiter spacecraft category is Galileo which entered orbit about Jupiter in 1995 to carry out a highly successful study of the Jovian system. Click the Galileo image for details of the Galileo spacecraft. Other examples of orbiter spacecraft include:

Messenger Mercury Orbiter
Mariner 9 Mars Orbiter
Cassini Saturn Orbiter
Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Odyssey
TOPEX/Poseidon Earth Orbiter
Ulysses Solar Polar Orbiter
Jason Earth Orbiter
Mars '01 Orbiter
Magellan Venus Orbiter
Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, JIMO (project cancelled)
Mars Observer a spacecraft lost