PIONEER 10 & 11 STATUS REPORTS

STATUS UPDATED: 24 May 1996


Pioneer 10

(Launched 2 March 1972)

   Distance from Sun (1 June 1996): 64.73 AU
   Speed relative to the Sun: 12.5 km/sec (27,962 mph)
   Distance from Earth (1 May 1996) : 9.86 billion kilometers (6.13 billion
   miles)
   Roundtrip Light Time: 18 hours 17 minutes
   Active Instruments:
      Charged Particle Instrument (CPI)
      Geiger Tube Telescope (GTT)
      Ultraviolet Photometer (UV)

The spacecraft is healthy and continues to send back valuable scientific
observations from the outer regions of our Solar System. The available
electrical power on the spacecraft is insufficient to continue operating the
Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRT) instrument. The CRT was dropped from the list of
active instruments on 16 May 1996.

Pioneer 10 will pass through Superior Conjunction on 8 June 1996. (The Sun
will be in line with the spacecraft, as viewed from Earth).  The minimum
Sun-Earth-Spacecraft angle will be 3 degrees. There will be some degradation
of the received signal from 5 June to 11 June due to Solar interference.

Pioneer 11

(Launched 5 April 1973)

   Distance from Sun: 45.72 AU
   Speed relative to the Sun: 12.24 km/sec (27,380 mph)
   Distance from Earth: 6.70 billion kilometers (4.16 billion miles)

The Mission of Pioneer 11 has ended. Its RTG power source is exhausted.

The last communication from Pioneer 11 was reveived in November 1995, shortly
before the Earth's motion carried it out of view of the spacecraft antenna.

The spacecraft is headed toward the constellation of Aquila (The Eagle),
Northwest of the constellation of Sagittarius. Pioneer 11 will pass near the
closest star in the constellation in about 4 million years.


Project Manager: Fred Wirth (e-mail:Fred_Wirth@qmgate.arc.nasa.gov)