In article ,
ed kyle wrote:
And Saturn IB Centaur's payload to Mars was 2700 kg. An overrun of nearly
500 kg is not something that could have been overcome trivially.

According to "On Mars",
("http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4212/contents.html") NASA was
trying to meet a 3,000 kg spacecraft weight limit to fly on
Saturn IB/Centaur.

The 2700-kg number is also from "On Mars", interestingly enough.

Note that the 3000-kg mass estimate increased very substantially after the
true density of the Martian atmosphere became clear -- it was *not* a
realistic mass for the Voyager spacecraft, as it turned out.
--
MOST launched 30 June; first light, 29 July; 5arcsec | Henry Spencer
pointing, 10 Sept; first science, early Oct; all well. |