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How infeasible is a Kuiper Belt equivalent of Dawn
Tom Womack
post Nov 25 2008, 01:41 PM
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I presume that it is completely infeasible without a very powerful nuclear reactor and many years' production of ion engines to do anything remotely like Dawn in the Kuiper belt - the distances are just too long.

Is it in fact feasible with current technology even to get a probe into orbit around Haumea or Makemake? I'd suspect not, that the speed you need to get it out to the Kuiper belt in a lifetime is much too great to cancel down to orbital velocity.
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djellison
post Feb 22 2010, 11:36 AM
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New Horizons is expected to reach, and be fully functional at, one or more KBO's after it's Pluto flyby.
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abbath
post Feb 22 2010, 01:03 PM
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QUOTE (djellison @ Feb 22 2010, 12:36 PM) *
New Horizons is expected to reach, and be fully functional at, one or more KBO's after it's Pluto flyby.


yes, i know, but the topic is about some Dawn-style mission, which involve ion propulsion, not just chemical. RTG of course is able to power a scientific platform, but is fat too unpowered to sustain some electric propulsion (a RTG unit can provide 300-400W, while a ion thruster needs several kW. Using multiple RTG units would result in a too heavy probe).

The real problem with nuclear reactors is that today they need a great R&D work. Just some prototipes have actually flown in space (i.e. USSR' topaz).
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