The General‐Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (GPHS‐RTG) was developed for the originally planned International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM). [ISPM would later, with the elimination of the NASA spacecraft, become the Ulysses mission.] At 300 We beginning‐of‐life (BOL) power, the GPHS‐RTG was the most powerful RTG with the highest specific power (5.3 We/kg) of any space RTG. These improved performance attributes of the GPHS‐RTG made it attractive for use on the Galileo mission. Subsequently, the GPHS‐RTG was selected to power the Cassini spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Saturn, and the New Horizons spacecraft which is on its way to Pluto. Truly, the GPHS‐RTG is a “general‐purpose” space RTG.


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    Title :

    The General‐Purpose Heat Source Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator: A Truly General‐Purpose Space RTG



    Conference:

    SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL FORUM‐STAIF 2008: 12th Conference on Thermophysics Applications in Microgravity; 1st Symposium on Space Resource Utilization; 25th Symposium on Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion; 6th Conference on Human/Robotic Technology and the Vision for Space Exploration; 6th Symposium on Space Colonization; 5th Symposium on New Frontiers and Future Concept ; 2008 ; Albuquerque (New Mexico)


    Published in:

    AIP Conference Proceedings ; 969 , 1 ; 663-671


    Publication date :

    2008-01-21


    Size :

    9 pages





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English