The New Horizons Spacecraft

Fountain, Glen H.; Kusnierkiewicz, David Y.; Hersman, Christopher B.; Herder, Timothy S.; Coughlin, Thomas B.; Gibson, William C.; Clancy, Deborah A.; DeBoy, Christopher C.; Hill, T. Adrian; Kinnison, James D.; Mehoke, Douglas S.; Ottman, Geffrey; Rogers, Gabe; Stern, S. A.; Stratton, James M.; Vernon, Steven; Williams, Stephen

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-89518-5_3

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…[1][2][3][4] and case studies of spacecraft using these power sources [5][6][7]. Readers are referred to one of the many recent reviews [e.g.…”

Section: Scopementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the context of smaller, simpler and lower-cost space missions, it is desirable to utilise this heat directly for spacecraft thermal control if possible [10]. The New Horizons spacecraft currently en route to Pluto uses only 15 W t from the 3950 W t (at launch) GPHS-RTG for thermal control and includes supplementary electrical heaters [7,8]. The Cassini spacecraft is powered by three GPHS-RTGs, each producing approximately 4400 W t (285 W e ) near the beginning of the mission.…”

Section: Use Of 'Waste' Thermal Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The approach adopted in this study is to design the RTHU so that the TEG operates as close to generic datasheet values [22] as possible, and then use the datasheet value of η TEG together with Q A obtained from the thermal model to determine the electrical power via rearrangement of Equation 7. The value of η TEG is a function of both the absolute temperatures and difference in temperature between the hot and cold sides of the module ΔT TEG (K).…”

Section: Thermoelectric Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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A conceptual spacecraft radioisotope thermoelectric and heating unit (RTHU)

Williams

Ambrosi

Bannister

et al. 2011

Int. J. Energy Res.

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SUMMARY Spacecraft venturing to the outer planets and beyond—or onto the planetary surface where available solar energy is reduced—benefit from the longevity and consistency of electrical and thermal energy derived from radioisotope energy sources. A review of likely mission requirements and concept studies of small electrical generating units (<10 We) reveals a potential opportunity for a unit with an electrical output of around 1 We that can also supply some heat to the spacecraft to aid thermal control: a radioisotope thermoelectric and heating unit. This power requirement cannot be achieved with current US space‐qualified modular radioisotope fuel assemblies. Additionally, new European programmes consider 241Am fuel to be much more cost effective than 238Pu. Taken together, these factors provide the rationale for taking a relatively ‘clean‐sheet’ approach to design of a radioisotope thermoelectric and heating unit fuelled with 241Am. In this paper, initial requirements and performance targets for such a unit are developed, a simple concept design and thermal model is presented and the performance and mass are estimated. The results suggest that units generating 1–2 We may achieve a specific power of around 0.7–0.9 We kg−1 without the thermal inputs to spacecraft becoming impractically large. Such units can use a bismuth telluride thermoelectric material, which is commercially applied in terrestrial applications and is therefore likely to incur lower cost and development risk than more specialised compounds. This study may form the basis of a more detailed design effort. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…[1][2][3][4] and case studies of spacecraft using these power sources [5][6][7]. Readers are referred to one of the many recent reviews [e.g.…”

Section: Scopementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Use Of 'Waste' Thermal Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thermoelectric Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

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A conceptual spacecraft radioisotope thermoelectric and heating unit (RTHU)

Williams

Ambrosi

Bannister

et al. 2011

Int. J. Energy Res.

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“…The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) is one of seven scientific instruments/experiments (Weaver et al 2007) on board the New Horizons spacecraft (Fountain et al 2007), now on its way to Pluto . While it is doubtful that Pluto has an intrinsic magnetic field and magnetospshere that accelerates charged particles to high energies, Pluto does have (or has had in the very recent past) a substantial atmosphere (Brosch 1995;Elliot et al 2003;Elliot et al 1989;Elliot et al 2007;Sicardy et al 2003) that is escaping into the solar wind in a comet-like interaction (Bagenal et al 1997;Bagenal & McNutt 1989;Delamere & Bagenal 2004;Kecskemety & Cravens 1993;Krasnopolsky 1999;Tian & Toon 2005;Trafton et al 1997).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) on the New Horizons Mission

McNutt¹,

Livi²,

Gurnee³

et al. 2009

New Horizons

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The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) comprises the hardware and accompanying science investigation on the New Horizons spacecraft to measure pick-up ions from Pluto's outgassing atmosphere. To the extent that Pluto retains its characteristics similar to those of a "heavy comet" as detected in stellar occultations since the early 1980s, these measurements will characterize the neutral atmosphere of Pluto while providing a consistency check on the atmospheric escape rate at the encounter epoch with that deduced from the atmospheric structure at lower altitudes by the ALICE, REX, and SWAP experiments on New Horizons. In addition, PEPSSI will characterize any extended ionosphere and solar wind interaction while also characterizing the energetic particle environment of Pluto, Charon, and their associated system. First proposed for development for the Pluto Express mission in September 1993, what became the PEPSSI instrument went through a number of development stages to meet the requirements of such an instrument for a mission to Pluto while minimizing the required spacecraft resources. The PEPSSI instrument provides for measurements of ions (with compositional information) and electrons from 10s of keV to ~1 MeV in a 120° x 12° fan-shaped beam in six sectors for 1.5 kg and ~2.5 W.

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“…Because the downlink in this type of system is independent of the uplink, the NH radio system is referred to as a 'transceiver' rather than a 'transponder.' This system is discussed further by Deboy et al (2005), Fountain et al (2006), Jensen and Bokulic (2000), and others.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

The New Horizons Radio Science Experiment (REX)

Tyler¹,

Linscott²,

Bird³

et al.

New Horizons

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The New Horizons (NH) Radio Science Experiment, REX, is designed to determine the atmospheric state at the surface of Pluto and in the lowest few scale heights. Expected absolute accuracies in n, p, and T at the surface are 4 · 10 19 m −3 , 0.1 Pa, and 3 K, respectively, obtained by radio occultation of a 4.2 cm-λ signal transmitted from Earth at 10-30 kW and received at the NH spacecraft. The threshold for ionospheric observations is roughly 2 · 10 9 e − m −3 . Radio occultation experiments are planned for both Pluto and Charon, but the level of accuracy for the neutral gas is expected to be useful at Pluto only. REX will also measure the nightside 4.2 cm-λ thermal emission from Pluto and Charon during the time NH is occulted. At Pluto, the thermal scan provides about five half-beams across the disk; at Charon, only disk integrated values can be obtained. A combination of two-way tracking and occultation signals will determine the Pluto system mass to about 0.01 percent, and improve the Pluto-Charon mass ratio. REX flight equipment augments the NH radio transceiver used for spacecraft communications and tracking. Implementation of REX required realization of a new CIC-SCIC signal processing algorithm; the REX hardware implementation requires 1.6 W, and has mass of 160 g in 520 cm 3 . Commissioning tests conducted after NH launch demonstrate that the REX system is operating as expected.

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The New Horizons Spacecraft

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

A conceptual spacecraft radioisotope thermoelectric and heating unit (RTHU)

A conceptual spacecraft radioisotope thermoelectric and heating unit (RTHU)

The Pluto Energetic Particle Spectrometer Science Investigation (PEPSSI) on the New Horizons Mission

The New Horizons Radio Science Experiment (REX)

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