New Frontiers 3 - updates Options

[vjkane]

NASA posted this update on its website today. No nuclear power for the next mission and list of acceptable candidate missions likely to come this spring:

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate (SMD) plans to release an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for the third New Frontiers (NF-3) mission no earlier than June 2008. Downselection would occur in 2009. This NF-3 AO will solicit only missions that do not require nuclear sources for power generation or propulsion.

Once the National Research Council's (NRC's) New Opportunities for Solar System Exploration (NOSSE) committee reports to NASA on mid decade NF science mission priorities in March 2008, NASA plans to release more details about allowed targets for the upcoming NF-3 AO."

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=27162

[nprev]

Ah! Very enlightning, MC; thank you!

Guess the question then becomes what is the demand for Pu-238? Damned if I can think of any besides UMSF...so, it's even more critical that NASA asserts its needs.

[vjkane]

Guess the question then becomes what is the demand for Pu-238? Damned if I can think of any besides UMSF...so, it's even more critical that NASA asserts its needs.

I've read that there is a game of budgetary chicken going on. DOE wants NASA to foot the entire start up bill for restarting the production of the correct type of plutonium.

[tedstryk]

This is a really interesting document about solar power in the outer solar system.


http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/nov_2007_meet...solar_power.pdf

Might be applicable here.

[nprev]

This is a really interesting document about solar power in the outer solar system.

Yes, it was, Ted; thanks!

I'm sort of surprised that the authors didn't mention the deployment risk for some of these monster arrays (250 m2 for a Uranus orbiter!!!) In fact, that's so large that it would probably place maneuvering constraints in terms of max delta-V in order to avoid warping the arrays & possibly messing up inter-cell connections/harnesses.

[ugordan]

In fact, that's so large that it would probably place maneuvering constraints in terms of max delta-V in order to avoid warping the arrays & possibly messing up inter-cell connections/harnesses.

Slight correction there: not delta-V, but acceleration.