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SwRI team makes breakthroughs studying Pluto orbiter mission
A Southwest Research Institute [SwRI] team using internal research funds has made several discoveries that expand the range and value of a future Pluto orbiter mission. The breakthroughs define a fuel-saving orbital tour and demonstrate that an orbiter can continue exploration in the Kuiper Belt after surveying Pluto. These and other results from the study will be reported this week at a workshop on future Pluto and Kuiper Belt exploration at the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Associate Vice President and planetary scientist Dr. Alan Stern leads the SwRI study. The team first discovered how numerous key scientific objectives can be met using gravity assists from Pluto's giant satellite, Charon, rather than propellant, allowing the orbiter to change its orbit repeatedly to investigate various aspects of Pluto, its atmosphere, its five moons, and its solar wind interactions for up to several years. The second achievement demonstrates that, upon completing its science objectives at Pluto, the orbiter can then use Charon's gravity to escape the system without using fuel, slinging the spacecraft into the Kuiper Belt to use the same electric propulsion system it used to enter Pluto orbit to then explore other dwarf planets and smaller Kuiper Belt bodies.
"This is groundbreaking," said Stern. "Previously, NASA and the planetary science community thought the next step in Kuiper Belt exploration would be to choose between 'going deep' in the study of Pluto and its moons or 'going broad' by examining smaller Kuiper Belt objects and another dwarf planet for comparison to Pluto. The planetary science community debated which was the right next step. Our studies show you can do both in a single mission: it's a game changer."
Previously: Return to Pluto?
A Return to Pluto and Other Solar System Targets
Related: New Horizons Captures the Farthest Image From Earth Ever Made
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(Score: 2, Interesting) by c0lo on Friday October 26 2018, @06:27AM (6 children)
I guess 'using electricity but no fuel' may makes sense... if you are a journalist for which 'electricity' means a power cord plugged into the wall socket and 'fuel' means whatever you fill up your gas-guzzler with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Unixnut on Friday October 26 2018, @08:46AM
To be fair, that is probably the average level of understanding for "normal" people. I can't tell you how many times I tried to explain to "eco" people that yes, electric cars do in fact use energy (fuel), the electricity doesn't magically appear out of your power socket. It has to be generated from somewhere, so fuel is being used up, just not locally in the car.
If you want to be pedantic, the (reversible) chemical reaction in the batteries is being "used up". but I think that would have lost them completely.
Electricity is an energy transfer mechanism, it isn't a energy source in its own right.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by hellcat on Friday October 26 2018, @03:14PM (3 children)
RTG supplies electricity and you can't turn it off.
Electric propulsion is not useful for gravity assist maneuvers.
Hydrazine supplies power to the thrusters.
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/Spacecraft/Systems-and-Components.php [jhuapl.edu]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday October 27 2018, @12:51AM (2 children)
Care to support your assertion?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by hellcat on Sunday November 11 2018, @01:59AM (1 child)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_thruster#Lifetime [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday November 11 2018, @05:40AM
And those ions that you accelerate and the electrical power are... what?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 26 2018, @04:35PM
To me, it sounds more like "SwRI Scientist Discovers Kerbal Space Program".