JPL DESCANSO - Deep Space Communications and Navigation Center of Excellence

Biography

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Polly Estabrook

Polly Estabrook received a B.S. in engineering physics and a B.A. in economics in 1975 from the University of California, Berkeley. She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1981 and 1989, respectively, from Stanford University (Palo Alto, California).


Dr. Estabrook is Deputy Section Manager of the Communications Architectures and Research section. Her research interests lie in the areas of signal detection during critical events, deep-space telecom system design, and the application of new communication technologies to space exploration.


Dr. Estabrook joined JPL in 1987 as a member of the technical staff, working on satellite communications. She was the lead telecommunications system engineer for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project, responsible for the performance of the entry, descent, and landing telecommunications system and for the overall design and performance of the direct-to-Earth and relay communications system. After the landing of the MER rovers, she worked on the design of the communication system for NASA's Vision for Space Exploration Program supporting human exploration of the Moon and Mars. From 1992 to 2004, she was supervisor of the Advanced Communications Systems Concepts Group in the JPL Communication Systems and Research Section. Her group provided the telecommunication system engineers for Cassini, Mars Pathfinder, Deep Space 1, Deep Space 2, Space Technology 3, ST-4, 2001 Mars Odyssey, Mars Sample Return, and MER.


Co-Author of Chapter 7 from Volume 13 of the Deep-Space Communications and Navigation Series:

Mars Exploration Rover Telecommunications


Co-Author of the following articles of the DESCANSO Design & Performance Summary Series - Telecommunications: