AbstractFor more than 20 years, an “Interstellar Precursor Mission” has been discussed as a high priority for science. Various schemes considered require massive propulsion systems and are inherently expensive. We reconsider an old approach in which a small probe obtains significant solar-system escape speeds by “dropping” deep into the Sun's gravitational potential well and then executing a ΔV maneuver at perihelion. This implementation requires a very robust and autonomous, yet low-mass spacecraft, as well as an advanced perihelion propulsion system that can be used while the probe is thermally protected from the near-Sun environment. Many of the engineering problems are driven by the need for reliable decades-long cruise in deep space and so are largely independent of the propulsion system. Such a long-lived probe could be queried at random over decades of otherwise hands-off operations and return data obtainable in no other known way on the conditions that exist in the space between the stars.
Low-cost interstellar probe
Acta Astronautica ; 52 , 2-6 ; 267-279
2002-01-01
13 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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