Wow! I had the Pilgrim Observer back in the day, and loved it! A few random pieces remain in my spares box (sniff, sniff).
Reading that excellent supplemental booklet reminded me how much serious thought was put into the design. It was a true, hard science kit. Too bad not much is being done in this line today. I've heard for a while that Rick Sternbach might be planning a kit of his planetary explorer design, but so far no sign of it.
Folks who weren't around at the height of the space race have no idea what it was like. Today, the film 2001 looks like an over-optimistic pipe dream, but at that time it was within reach. If we'd stayed on track we'd have made it there on schedule.
It shows the hazards of merely projecting current trends into the future. To paraphrase Sir Arthur Clarke, the future is never what it used to be...
M.