A mission is proposed in which a small science payload can be soft landed on a Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) near Neptune. Post-launch propulsion for Persephone requires a solar sail to accelerate the craft to solar-system escape velocity, a reverse-powered-Neptune flyby to direct the craft towards the Neptune-leading KBO, and a chemical rocket for KBO descent. If an appropriate KBO can be located, the mission duration is about two decades and a Delta-class launch vehicle is required.
Persephone: A non-nuclear rendezvous mission to a Kuiper Belt Object
Space Technology and Applications International Forum - 2001 ; 2001 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 552 , 1 ; 612-617
2001-02-02
6 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Persephone: A Non-Nuclear Rendezvous Mission to a Kuiper Belt Object
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