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Innovative Interstellar Explorer was a
slides The focus was getting a spacecraft launched by about 2014, achieving 200 AU by the year 2031. A variety of strategies were assessed, including using launch windows (not counting backups) for a Jupiter assist in 2014, 2026, 2038, and 2050about every 12 years. The launch opportunity for the 2014 window passed, but for example it could have resulted in a Jupiter flyby by early 2016 and then go on to reach 200 astronomical units (AU) by 2044. With an ion drive, a speed of about 7.9 AU per year could be attained by the time its
Interstellar Explorer – NASAPresentation on IIE
{{Jupiter spacecraft Hypothetical spacecraft Interstellar travel Proposed space probes
Innovative Interstellar Explorer was a NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
"Vision Mission" study funded by NASA following a proposal under NRA-03-OSS-01 on 11 September 2003. This study focused on measuring the interstellar medium, the region outside the influence of the nearest star, the Sun. It proposes to use a radioisotope thermal generator
A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), sometimes referred to as a radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioact ...
to power ion thrusters.
The project is a study of a proposed interstellar precursor mission that would probe the nearby interstellar medium and measure the properties of magnetic fields and cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
s and their effects on a spacecraft leaving the Solar System
The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
. Mission launch plans analyzed direct, one planet, multi-planet, and upper-stage trades. As a concept study, a number of technologies, configurations, and mission goals were considered, leading to the choice of a spacecraft propelled with ion engines powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator
A radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG, RITEG), sometimes referred to as a radioisotope power system (RPS), is a type of nuclear battery that uses an array of thermocouples to convert the heat released by the decay of a suitable radioa ...
(RTG).''Innovative Interstellar Explorer'' Feb 2006slides The focus was getting a spacecraft launched by about 2014, achieving 200 AU by the year 2031. A variety of strategies were assessed, including using launch windows (not counting backups) for a Jupiter assist in 2014, 2026, 2038, and 2050about every 12 years. The launch opportunity for the 2014 window passed, but for example it could have resulted in a Jupiter flyby by early 2016 and then go on to reach 200 astronomical units (AU) by 2044. With an ion drive, a speed of about 7.9 AU per year could be attained by the time its
xenon
Xenon is a chemical element with the symbol Xe and atomic number 54. It is a dense, colorless, odorless noble gas found in Earth's atmosphere in trace amounts. Although generally unreactive, it can undergo a few chemical reactions such as the ...
propellant was depleted, enabling a travel distance of 200 AU by 2044 and perhaps 1000 AU after one hundred years from launch. Different launch times and configurations have various timelines and options. One configuration for launch saw the use of a Delta IV Heavy and for the upper stages a stack of Star 48
The Star 48 is the largest of a family of solid rocket motors used by many space propulsion and launch vehicle stages. It is used almost exclusively as an upper stage. It was developed primarily by Thiokol Propulsion and is now, after several ...
and Star 37 leading to various gravity assist options. Another launch stack that was considered was the Atlas V 551 with a Star 48.
In 2011, the study's primary author gave an update to website Centauri Dreams, giving a retrospective on the mission and its feasibility since its publication in 2003. By that time, some of earliest launch windows were no longer feasible without a ready spacecraft. Some retrospectives were the advantages and potential of solar sails, but the need for them to be more advanced for a mission, and also the utility of a radioisotope propulsion (REP) for such a mission. REP was the combination of using an RTG to power an ion drive.
See also
* Applied Physics Laboratory * Interstellar probe * New Horizons 2 * New Horizons (Pluto flyby 2015, now heading out to KBOs) * TAU (spacecraft)References
External links
Interstellar Explorer – NASA
{{Jupiter spacecraft Hypothetical spacecraft Interstellar travel Proposed space probes