TRW - Solar Electric Multi Mission Spacecraft (1970)

[Graham1973]

Proposed design for a Multi-Mission bus using ion engines for propulsion. Suggested missions included an untargeted asteroid belt flyby, a targeted asteroid belt flyby, a Jupiter flyby (With or without use of gravity assist to reach an out-of-ecliptic orbit following the flyby.) and a out-of-ecliptic mission using the ion engines to slowly change the spacecraft inclination relative to the ecliptic over several orbits.

The planned launch vehicles would have been the Atlas-Centaur (Asteroid belt missions) or the Titan IIIc (Jupiter/Out-of-Ecliptic).

Study of a Solar Electric Multi-Mission Spacecraft

https://app.box.com/s/ch93bcikj6pj49nkfika1ody2msmmr4k

 

[Michel Van]

ThX for Info


So 30 years earlier version of Dawn probe
it sad NASA had in 1970s so low budget
would interesting to see those mission in begin 1980s.
also as Halley probe

 

[Graham1973]

Actually they had at least two designs for using ion engines to explore the asteroid belt, the other is by North American/Rockwell and is much more specialised than this TRW designed spacecraft.

I've posted that in a separate thread.

 

[blackstar]

Did they tie any of this to the SNAP-8 reactor? I've seen at least one report about the SNAP-8 for an electric propulsion system, but I'd have to go looking for it.

 

[Graham1973]

Did they tie any of this to the SNAP-8 reactor? I've seen at least one report about the SNAP-8 for an electric propulsion system, but I'd have to go looking for it.

No, aside from a line in the abstract to Volume 1a saying: "The electric thruster technology and low thrust flight experience are also needed in preparation for subsequent nuclear electric manned missions."

For that matter, there's no mention of using these things for Mars flybys in any of the three documents, but then there is a lot missing.

 

[blackstar]

Nuclear.

 

[Michel Van]

Nuclear.

That's a 1960s JPL proposal for Nuklear Powers ion Engine Probe, Not a TRW project