How far will NH pass by Pluto?, - and will it be possible to effect a meaningful course change? |
How far will NH pass by Pluto?, - and will it be possible to effect a meaningful course change? |
Guest_Oersted_* |
Apr 16 2008, 02:16 PM
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#1
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Guests |
So, from what I gather, NH will pass by Pluto at a speed of around 14 km/s. I know it won't be able to slow down in any way, and will continue into deep space afterwards, but is a substantial course change envisaged at Pluto, or will it fly by so far away that the course change will be negligible?
I realise that the instruments must be optimised for a pass at a certain distance, but what distance is that and could it possible by reduced with no ill effects? It would be mindblowing if a low pass over Pluto could be planned so that NH will fly close by Charon as well, wouldn't it? - Or maybe even - to go really out on a limb - a few high-speed figure 8's around both bodies, before the probe continues on its merry way. Would that even be physically possible? At least I'm not suggesting aero-braking if Pluto turns out to have a tenuous atmosphere. |
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Apr 16 2008, 07:40 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Kinda figured as much...it's not very large, and is mostly made of not-so-massive stuff.
One thing I'd like to know is how much maneuvering propellent NH is currently estimated to have post-Pluto for the KBO encounter, and how large a conic section of space she can feasibly reach (by this I mean total potential delta-V vs. power supply endurance, comm range, etc. if there are any other limiting factors). Also, are there any tentative plans to conduct a retargeting maneuver to reach a KBO prior to the Pluto encounter, or will all this take place afterwards? (I'm guessing that the latter is far more likely based on current planning as shown, plus there's no gravitational assist potential at Pluto to speak of). A Plutino would presumably be the ideal target in terms of feasiblity; IIRC, most of these are approximately coplanar with Pluto's orbit? -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Apr 17 2008, 01:41 PM
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#3
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 76 Joined: 26-May 04 Member No.: 77 |
One thing I'd like to know is how much maneuvering propellent NH is currently estimated to have post-Pluto for the KBO encounter, and how large a conic section of space she can feasibly reach... I'm certainly not the expert around here, but I think that Alan said in a past posting that NH would be able to alter it's trajectory by up to 1 degree or so. edit: ah... here it is! (post #2) http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?showtopic=2328 |
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Apr 18 2008, 01:03 AM
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#4
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
I'm certainly not the expert around here, but I think that Alan said in a past posting that NH would be able to alter it's trajectory by up to 1 degree or so. Thanks, YRG. Well, that ain't much if they're hoping for a target reachable in a decade or less...I'm sure the search will be fast & furious once the target zone clears the galactic center from our viewpoint... -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Apr 18 2008, 07:21 AM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Well, that ain't much if they're hoping for a target reachable in a decade or less... Based on some back of the envelope math I did a few years back... The cone of possible destinations for NH is pretty large. It's skinny, but it's long. I estimated that about 1/2500 KBOs will be in it. Since the number of KBOs is considerably larger than that, the probability that at least one of them can be visited is close to 1.0. And there's a very good probability of being able to visit more than one. |
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