Re: Timelines

IsaacKuo schrieb:
> On Feb 5, 12:43 pm, Robert Martinu <inva...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>> Cassini needed Venus, Earth Jupiter and Saturn to be in the right
>> positions, you don't get that every day.
> 
> Did it really need it?  If your objective is a science mission
> on a planet which has already been visited several times,
> then you'll be willing to wait some years and play cosmic
> billiards to boost your payload.  But if you're testing a
> revolutionary FTL drive, then maybe you just want to get
> the thing out there quickly with a direct route.

That would require a probe thats lighter then Cassini while supporting 
the drive and all the stuff needed to get the probe back into radio 
distance to tell us if the experiment was a success.

To use an ion drive you'd need primarily a adequate power source and 
cooling vanes while making any impulsive manoeuvres impractical.
I'm not sure if thats really faster then visiting some planets, not as 
long as Jupiter and Saturn are in a useable constellation.

Robert